The CURATION Of: ‘R.I.P. Germain: Jesus Died For Us, We Will Die For Dudus!’, Institute of Contemporary Arts
Visited 04/04/2023
The ‘R.I.P. Germain: Jesus Died For Us, We Will Die For Dudus!’ exhibition, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.
R.I.P. Germain’s ‘Jesus Died for Us, We Will Die For Dudus!’ exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts is immersive installation done right. Separated into two galleries, the visitor is invited into first, a false front of a warehouse, and second, an exclusive VIP room. These two hyper-realistic sets will open your eyes to the complex underground of quasi-lawless spaces, carefully hidden in plain sight.
Before beginning the exhibition, an ICA staff member will hand you a card with a passcode necessary to enter the final room of the lower gallery, and a glossary of terms relating to jewellery, undercover business, and Black culture. Though of course, Black culture itself is tricky to define, as stated in R.I.P. Germain’s definition:
Black culture - A hyperobject that exists in the mind of some people who imagine a monolithic, well defined set of practices and products that are assumed to be understood by all Black people. In actuality, Black culture is harder to define, even from the inside.
The lower gallery comprises of three rooms, where you are enter one after the other through closed doors. Its outer wall has a large graffiti of the word ‘Mirage’. The first room is a fairly empty space, with a clothing rack displaying hoodies and shorts branded with ‘Security’. This retail shop/warehouse, completely natural and unassuming, serves as the false front of what was behind the following doors. The next room has a lot more going on, and not much of it makes sense at first. What is most noticeable straight away are the two chairs in the middle, back to back with a fan pointed at them, and the holes in the wall, revealing another layer of secrets. Mystery and tension become the dominant forces. Encouraged to find greater meaning in everyday objects, this intermediary space can only be understood after you explore all the details and have finally entered the passcode into the final room.
Behind the coded door is a grow room, doused in red light. The rows of marijuana are gated off. R.I.P. Germain invites the visitor through quite the journey and it can be confusing at first. I initially walked past the installation, not knowing that it was part of the exhibition. (It was my first time at the ICA bear in mind). An abandoned retail front eventually reveals its true nature through subtle details and divided space. And after all, who is Dudus?
Christopher Coke, also known by Dudus, was a Jamaican drug kingpin then convicted in 2012 and now serving a 23 year sentence. He heads Shower Posse, a drug gang started by his father in Kingston, Jamaica. R.I.P. Germain perhaps dedicates this exhibition to Dudus, whose marijuana exportation extends to London. The domino effect has resulted in a refined (British) rap culture which intertwines with new wealth being expressed through jewellery and in the exhibited example, the business A Jewellers.
A Jewellers - In their own words: “After selling his first piece of jewellery at the tender age of 19, Abtin Abbasi worked his way up through the seemingly impenetrable, old-school world of the London jewel trade, before establishing A Jewellers, which fast became the trendsetter for custom-made contemporary jewellery and watches on the UK showbiz scene.
The upper gallery is an A Jewellers showroom. Blue velvet drapes the walls and its ‘A’ logo beckons you in, high and proud. A UK Drill music video plays on loop, one where the artist is adorned with diamond jewellery, presumably crafted or customised by A Jewellers. At the end of the gallery is a VIP room, where a glass case displays real diamond encrusted chains and rings, but with a very special centrepiece. It is a Jesus piece with the face of a white Tupac.
Jesus piece - A pendant depicting the face of Jesus, with a crown of thorns. Popularised by The Notorious B.I.G. in the 90s. Having been reprised by numerous rappers since, in its many iterations it is now regarded as one of the most iconic pieces of jewellery in rap culture.
Through this exhibition, we are able to access the inaccessible. We stroll casually through real-world spaces, lawless and exclusive. We impersonate high value clients inspecting high value jewellery. R.I.P. Germain explores a wider Black collectivity and yet does so through exposing us to a niche culture within. Black culture in the UK, and London more specifically, is complexly represented in this riveting, immersive, two part installation.
The next three reviews:
Borghese Gallery, Rome
London Design Biennale 2023, Somerset House
‘After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art’ exhibition, National Gallery
Yaunt - an abbreviation of my Chinese name
Yaunt Gallery - the end goal