The title of the exhibition Abe bi rebewu a na ɛsɔ is a Ghanian proverb meaning ‘it is when some palm trees are about to die that they give good wine.’ Palm wine, a ritual drink in West African countries, is taken up by Adi as the main ingredient within a homespun film developer recipe. It appears in the exhibition as a publication Palm Wine Developer Recipe for Motion Picture Film, (2022) which contains Adi’s uniquely formulated recipe translated into the three main languages spoken in Brussels: French, Dutch and English. The publication is available for sale, offsite, at rile* books, and also as a PDF on our website. Additionally, the palm wine developer was used to produce a small film negative held within another matchbook-sized work, Whiskey (2022).
Covering the windows of Kantine is Solyx (Kantine) (2022). SOLYX® Bird Safety Film is designed to deter birds from flying into reflective glass, thus suffering an injury or death. The film forms a fence-like pattern over the windows. Solyx (Kantine) (2022) is interrupted by a second work No title (2022) a block of Iroko hardwood which props open the gallery window.
No title (2019-2020), an elongated wall-mounted sculpture, occupies the space of a former fireplace. The work is composed of an emergency escape ladder covered in aqueous cream that dangles from the lid of a garbage sack holder.
Sitting below the second, closed, window is witnesses (2022), a work that captures light during the day and emits light in the evening: a proto-cinema of sun rays. Entering or leaving the gallery one encounters hold (2021), a copy of which can be rented from Kantine by oral contract.
Within Abe bi rebewu a na ɛsɔ we experience cycles: the circulation of DVDs from gallery to domestic sphere, the movement of air through a propped open window, the processing of film, the absorption and release of light. Certain works are available, available on request, available elsewhere, textually available but materially absent. They are sensitive, weather specific, situated, or propped.
