Precious Okoyomon: "But Did You Die?" - Book Launch

Organised by Serpentine. Hosted by the Warburg Institute.

To celebrate the launch of their latest collection of poems, Precious Okoyomon will read from But Did You Die?

Okoyomon’s poetry captures the sensibility of their sublime installations, blending pantheism with expressive and inventive forms. But Did You Die? combines their signature divinely inspired lyricism with vivid illuminations. The delicate book weaves together poetry, experimental writing, and drawing.

Precious Okoyomon is a Nigerian-American poet and artist. Their first chapbook Ajebota was published by Bottlecap Press in 2021. Their work considers the natural world, histories of migration and racialisation, and the pure pleasures of everyday life. They have had institutional solo exhibitions at LUMA Westbau in Zurich (2018), Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt (2020), Performance Space New York (2021), and Aspen Art Museum (2021). They were included in the 59th Venice Biennale, the 58th Belgrade Biennial as well as group exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, and LUMA Arles in France. Major performances have been commissioned by Serpentine (2019) and the Institute of Contemporary Art (2019) in London. Okoyomon was a 2020 artist-in-residence at LUMA Arles, and they are the 2021 recipient of the Frieze Art Fair Artist Award, as well as the 2021 Chanel Next Art Prize. Their work is currently on display in Nigeria Imaginary, a group exhibition representing the Nigerian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and Cloud Chronicles, Fondation Beyeler’s summer exhibition.  

Precious Okoyomon has been closely linked to Serpentine for many years throughout its programmes including their participation in the Work Marathon (2018); The End of the World as part of Park Nights 2019; do it, an ever-expanding set of creative instructions by leading artists (2020-ongoing); THE SKY IS A GENIUS – an evening of poetry inside of P. Staff’s exhibition On Venus (2020); 140 Artists’ Ideas for Planet Earth (2021) as part of Serpentine’s Back to Earth exhibition; and Poetry and Spiritualism inside Dominique Gonzalez Foerster’s exhibition Alienarium 5 (2022). 

ATTENDANCE FREE WITH ADVANCE BOOKING VIA SERPENTINE GALLERIES

Image: Precious Okoyomon: But Did You Die? © Serpentine and Precious Okoyomon