Omi Iyọ
Wall Sculpture
Curator:
Anna Carnick
Locations:
Miami Beach Convention Center,
Convention Center Drive and 19th Street,
Miami Beach,
Florida 33139,
USA.
December 6 – 10, 2023
Design Miami/
Palazzo Litta as part of 5VIE Design Week, Milan, Italy.
April 15 - 21, 2024
Awards:
Design Miami, Best of Show, 2023.
Curator’s Choice: Design for Good Award, 2023.
Omi Iyọ (meaning "salt water" in Yoruba) is an installation that calls attention to the dangerous journeys of undocumented migrants from Africa to Europe. The work serves as a poetic marker honoring the very real human toll of this crisis. Referencing the hull of a boat, the reflective, stainless steel structure is filled with salt, which flows from an aperture below, resulting in a pattern of crystals beneath. With the elegance and quiet urgency of an hourglass, the piece dignifies the memory of those who make the treacherous, often deadly journey across the Mediterranean Sea.
Omi Iyọ made its debut at the Design Miami fair in December 2023, where it was presented by LA-based gallery Marta. Anna Carnick, who served as the fair’s 2023 Curatorial Director, invited Marcus-Bello to create a special commission in response to the curatorial theme “Where We Stand: Reflections on Place & Purpose.” The theme asked designers to consider: How does our relationship to the very ground beneath our feet and the people with whom we share it inform our sense of belonging, the obligations we have to one another, and our paths forward?
In response, Omi Iyọ was designed to highlight and spark a dialogue around the global migration crisis—in this case, specifically focused on the experiences of undocumented migrants journeying from Africa to Europe. The work makes formal reference to the hull of a boat, the primary mode of transport for these frequently overlooked, and often injurious and fatal journeys. The polished, stainless steel piece acts as a mirror, offering a symbolic and literal moment of reflection for visitors to consider our responsibility to one another. The form is hollow and filled with salt, which, over the course of days, flows to the ground through a small aperture, resulting in a pattern of crystals below. The salt is symbolic of the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, which must be traversed during maritime passage from the Global South to the Global North; evoking both its chemical composition and the physical treachery it poses to those who cross it.
Given Italy's role in the geopolitical landscape and ongoing debates on migration, following Design Miami, the work was exhibited at Milan Design Week 2024, presented by 5VIE at Palazzo Litta. Its presence was intended to spark further dialogue amongst the design community and beyond while respectfully centering the human impact of this crisis.
