Wall Space: Yvonne Onakeme Etaghene
Created by Rotterdam-based designer Chris Kabel, Wall Space is a sculptural installation that turns Headlands’ building façade into a canvas for commissioned texts. Inspired by historical movie theater marquees, a hidden armature on the side of the building holds metal mesh letters that respond to the changing light, visible to viewers as cast shadows. The letters are reconfigured into a new poem several times a year.
Yvonne Onakeme Etaghene contributes an excerpt from Skin Into Verse. Yvonne Onakeme Etaghene is an Ijaw Urhobo Nigerian dyke poet, performer, author, dancer, playwright, visual artist, and fashion designer, and is the author of For Sizakele, a novel that addresses African lesbian/bisexual identity, love, intimate partner violence, and gender. Etaghene has published five poetry chapbooks, and is the host of the NIGERIAN DYKE REALNESS Podcast and the founder of Ankara Queen by Yv. Etaghene, a Nigerian fashion, clothing, and accessories line.
Above: 2022 Wall Space installation by Yvonne Onakeme Etaghene (BAF ’21–’22). Photo by Tom Ide.
