Last Night of the Stone Age
30.04 – 20.06.2023
In October 2015, Yutaka Sone wrote the poem “Last Night of the Stone Age.” The poem describes a time when small groups of people still lived in caves, and language is still developing along the transition of these early hunting and gathering societies. The first signs of the modern Bronze Age hang in the air, but for now they keep alive only the fire of their daily festival.
In recent years, Sone and his artist friends from around the world have been engaged in performances in search of these anonymous voices of the past. Sometimes political, sometimes in a more social context and sometimes just fun among friends, this series of mostly unprogrammed events led to the project “Last Night of the Stone Age” a series of vinyl records, live performances and an exhibition at Tommy Simoens, Antwerp.
Peter Adjaye is a conceptual sound artist specializing in interdisciplinary collaborations. He is a musicologist, composer, DJ producer and musician. He is known for his project MusicforArchitecture, creating soundscapes that integrate the history and cultural influences of architectural structures. Thanks to his unique skills and vast experience, he has worked closely with his brother, Sir David Adjaye OBE, for more than 15 years. This work has recently resulted in the release of ‘Dialogues’ on MusicforArchitecture Records in collaboration with Vinyl Factory Records. For Last Night of the Stone Age, Adjaye went to several Antwerp record stores and purchased an eclectic set of vinyls, from African beat samples to rare free jazz and even some local Flemish “kleinkunst” recordings. In previous sessions with this group of artists, he also proved to be an engaging spoken word performer.
Andrew Pierre Hart has a long history in music, and later in his career began painting. His work explores somatic responses to ideas related to sound, including but not limited to acoustic levitation, spatialization, man as a vessel of sound and the creation of physical and theoretical space. Hart’s work is heavily influenced by music and is a rethinking of visual language and the legacy of Western abstraction, exploring connections between phenomena, language and the representation of sound in painting. For Last Night of the Stone Age at Teddy Picker, Hart collected a lot of musical toys and some small Korg synthesizers. His painting can also be seen at the Last Night of the Stone Age exhibition at Tommy Simoens, Antwerp.
24-year-old revelation David Ngyah is a Belgian soul and blues-inspired singer and musician. He is no stranger to the Belgian hip-hop scene. Inspired by the musical vibe of D’Angelo, James Brown, Otis Redding and Michael Jackson, among others, he started making music when he was 17. David wrote his first hit Elusive at 19, along with the Belgian band Blackwave. Ngyah has been drumming since childhood, and his percussion proved to be one of the driving forces in Last Night of the Stone Age.
Japanese artist and noise musician Shun Owada creates electro-acoustic works and installations with an interest in a relationship between “anonymous” sound and the human body as an observing organism. His sculptural work includes sound installations made by randomly dripping acid onto natural stones.
Japanese artist Yutaka Sone combines art with nature, sports, performance and entertainment. His work defies simple categorization. Not only can it not be reduced to one medium – Sone’s work includes sculpture, drawing, performance and video – it is also difficult to locate culturally. Rather than relating to a specific culture, the work rather focuses on culture in general. Sone, who now lives and works primarily in Antwerp, Washinoyama and Chong Wu, has traveled extensively. His experience of the places he has seen and the people he has met, his striving to find common ground between very diverse groups form the basis of his work. New sculpture created in his sculpture studio at the foot of Washinoyama Mountain, and made from local gray stone will be on display in the exhibition Last Night of the Stone Age at Tommy Simoens.
Rirkrit Tiravanija has always been interested in countercultures that have nourished his work. Punk, the 1970s iconic antiestablishment movement, was a response to the era’s various artistic, economic, and social crisis. It reflects a total rejection of conventional circuits and is notable for allowing anyone and everyone to come on stage to express themselves regardless of talent. Inspired by this culture of amateurism and contention, Rirkrit Tiravanija resorts to recurrent provocation in experimental situations, leaving viewers to interact freely with his installations and, thus, shift their status from visitor to participant. “ For me, the core of my work lies in the very construction. Without interaction or activation, it doesn’t exist.” Tiravaija’s monumental marble stage untitled 2015 (run like hell) will be at the centre of the exhibition “Last Night of the Stone Age”.