St Nicholas Church Gardens: Ranti Bam

Created especially for Our Lady and St Nicholas Church Gardens – the burial location of Liverpool’s first recorded Black resident and former slave, Abell (d.1717) -Ranti Bam offers a new meeting point for visitors to gather in mediation, contemplation, and discourse.

Old Churchyard, Liverpool L2

Inspired by the profound curative and narrative powers of clay, Bam presents seven new sculptures from her ‘Ifa’ series (2021-23). Through an intimate and time-sensitive creation process, Bam explores themes around fragility and vulnerability, intimacy and care, feminine labour and strength. The artist proposes clay as a medium for understanding human’s inseparability from our environment. The title ‘Ifa’ references the Yoruba word ‘I-fàá’, meaning ‘to pull close’, as well as ‘Ifá’, the Yoruba system of divination – Yoruba are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, concentrated in the southwestern part of the country. The sculpted stools, known as ‘Akpoti’ are integral to indigenous life and are used for rest, care, communication, and communal gatherings. Together, they seek to encourage rest, soothing and love. They act as an alter at which to honour memory and to thank our ancestors – a ritual commonly practiced in many African and global religions.

St Nicholas Church Gardens: Ranti Bam

Old Churchyard, Liverpool L2

Liverpool Biennial · Rest Is Radical

Meditative Audio Guide: 'Rest is Radical'

Inspired by Ranti Bam’s Ifa sculptures, this meditation reflects on how social systems convince us that everything is urgent and considers the different ways we strive to be ‘good enough’. Stepping back from this constant striving and instead opting to rest, is a radical act of resistance. This meditation considers the stools incorporated in Ranti Bam’s artworks – the functional use of a stool, as well as their symbolism as objects for rest, soothing and contemplation.

Liverpool Biennial · The Body Remembers

Meditative Audio Guide: 'The Body Remembers'

Several artworks included in Liverpool Biennial highlight the effects of colonialism on the descendants of people who were enslaved.
They acknowledge the trauma Black bodies have experienced and continue to experience – contemplating the effect on people’s mental and physical health today. This meditation explores the relationship between the body and stress, and how movement is medicine when it comes to processing difficult and challenging emotions.

Liverpool Biennial · Mindful Walking In The City

Meditative Audio Guides: 'Mindful Walking In The City'

Mindfulness is a technique that has been proven to improve our mental wellbeing. This audio recording is an opportunity for you to enjoy a more mindful experience of the Biennial, whether that’s engaging with an artwork or simply walking from one venue to another.

Liverpool Biennial · Slow Looking At Art

Meditative Audio Guide: 'Slow Looking At Art'

Mindfulness is a technique that has been proven to improve our mental wellbeing. This audio recording is an invitation to look more slowly and consciously as a way to enjoy a more mindful experience when engaging with artworks across the Biennial.