Untitled by Akinola Davies | PAUSE Series

Originally commissioned for Somerset House Studios’ permanent exhibition space Gallery 31, 'Untitled' is a new film commission from acclaimed filmmaker and Studios resident Akinola Davies.

Combining photography, moving image, experimental sound design and archive interviews, Davies’ beautifully intimate film draws on his interactions with his mother during lockdown, exploring themes of mortality, intergenerational relationships, the black female body, and resilience.

About the film, from Akinola:
"There is redemption in exploring the power of vulnerability. The passage of time and a confrontation of mortality and the eternal.

This work leans on the sacrifice of motherhood.
The process of ageing.
The relationship of the human body with the physical space as expansive lives inhabit the daily ritual of being. It is a requiem of living memories. Homage to technology as an archive of embalming our history, bringing life to our past.

It is the honouring of our mothers so our days on earth can be long.

Ultimately I don't know what the work is about, but I also know exactly what it is about. It is a work that lives in the quiet space, beyond words. It is ultimately what I place value on. The most value."

Discover more at https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/blog