Breathing Room:
to be held while taking shape
For their second program hosted with Metro54, S*an D. Henry-Smith invited the members of their yet-to-be named band made up S*an, Ladipo Famodu, Alec Mateo and Monique Todd to perform “to be held while taking shape”. Activating the science fiction writing of Famdou, vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Henry-Smith and Mateo presented a live score to the text, while Famdou live-sculpted wire figures, engaging in an improvised dialogue of shadow-dance and sound, with production support from Todd.
Ladipo Famodu is an artist and former afrofuturist who works with wire sculpture and collage. Disillusioned with speculation, he now finds comfort in playful irony and surrealism. His previous education in chemistry informs his understanding (and criticism) of the scientific gaze. In 2021, he initiated the program Recipes for a Technological Undoing.
S*an D. Henry-Smith is a collaborative practitioner working primarily in poetry, photography, sound, and by extension, performance and publishing. They are the author of Wild Peach, and the director of Lunar New Year.
Alec Mateo is a Dominican Writer and performer from New York, working with poetry, sound, and movement to explore fugitive subjectivities and modes of togetherness.
Monique Todd is a London-born writer working through essays, mapping, soundand sculpture.