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Sculpture

Ogene Midi003

The third iteration of the Ogene MIDI system — pushing further into generative rhythm, spatial sound, and the interplay between tradition and technology.

Chidirim Nwaubani/2026/Bronze cast sculpture

The interactive bronze sculptures, which form the core of the Mbari Memorial project, are reimagined versions of the ogene — a traditional iron gong or bell used to summon Igbo communities and mediate between the human and divine.

The Doyle Wham booth at Investec Cape Town Art Fair — four bronze ogene on blue crates before a generative screen

( Info )

At the core of the project are interactive sculptural forms cast in bronze, digitally shaped around the ogene: an iron gong or bell traditionally used to summon Igbo communities and to mediate between the human and the divine, historically forged by specialist blacksmiths. Reimagined by Nwaubani, these sculptural instruments function as conductive interfaces. When participants touch them (often while in contact with one another) electrical circuits are completed, activating the real-time generation of abstract digital forms on connected screens. Each activation produces a unique, time-bound digital sculpture reflected across a three-screen video display, crystallising a moment of collective creation generated through the connection between bodies, archival forms, and the algorithm.

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  1. The cast bronze ogene standing on four tapered legs
  2. Three-quarter view of the sculpture, the bells turned away from the camera
  3. Close view of the two hollow bells and their patinated interiors
  4. Close crop of the bell mouths and the seam where the two halves meet
What cannot be returned, must be reconceived.
  1. The Doyle Wham booth at Investec Cape Town Art Fair — four bronze ogene on blue crates before a generative screen
Ogene Midi: 003

Mbari Memorial ultimately reframes restitution as an imaginative labour: what cannot be returned intact must be collectively rethought. The Mbari house thus becomes, in the artist’s words, “a spiritual and allegorical site, not a collection of objects caged behind glass for passive admiration and economic valuation, but a communal, ritual, and living imperative.”

The process

Behind the scenes + afterthoughts

Ogene Midi: 003 — process 1Ogene Midi: 003 — process 2Ogene Midi: 003 — process 3Ogene Midi: 003 — process 4Ogene Midi: 003 — process 5Ogene Midi: 003 — process 6Ogene Midi: 003 — process 7Ogene Midi: 003 — process 8Ogene Midi: 003 — process 9Ogene Midi: 003 — process 10Ogene Midi: 003 — process 11Ogene Midi: 003 — process 12Ogene Midi: 003 — process 13Ogene Midi: 003 — process 14

( Project credits )

  • CreatorChidirim Nwaubani
  • CollectionLooty
  • Shown atArt Jameel // London Design Biennale // Cape Town Art Fair
Keep readingNext: Ogene Midi: 004 →
Ogene Midi: 004, 2026Sound

Ogene Midi: 004

Ogene Midi: 002, 2025Sound

Ogene Midi: 002