Sound, performance and museum display come together in Modular Merger, a new exhibition by Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom exploring how collections shape the way we experience objects, instruments and sound.
Developed through research into the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Oxford, the exhibition brings together sound, video and photography to consider what is revealed and concealed through the collection, preservation and display of musical instruments.
At its centre is a new sound work created using recordings of historic instruments from the collection. Individual sounds unfold and accumulate over time, inviting visitors to experience the instruments both separately and collectively. Throughout the exhibition, fragmented images, repeated forms and acts of cataloguing reflect on the ways museums organise and interpret objects.
Modular Merger marks the culmination of the inaugural Donna Lynas Residency (2023–26), a partnership between Wysing Arts Centre, Modern Art Oxford, Somerset House and South London Gallery, created in memory of the curator Donna Lynas, who was known for her long-term support of artist development.
This exhibition is supported by TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities, part of the University of Oxford’s Humanities Division. It was made possible through collaboration with the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments.
We offer a range of facilities to ensure we are accessible to visitors. Please click here to find out more about visiting Modern Art Oxford. If you have any questions about your visit, please get in touch at info@modernartoxforg.org.uk.
