Van Gogh House presents ‘Back-a-Yard Swag’, a solo exhibition of sculpture, assemblage and music by artist Dinu Li. The exhibition materialises an overlooked but important British history of blues parties in the homes of Caribbean communities, kept alive until the late 1980s.

Back-a-Yard Swag forms part of the programme of the Festival of ENCOUNTERS.

Comprising sculpture, assemblage and music, artist Dinu Li materialises an overlooked but important British history of blues parties in the homes of Caribbean communities, kept alive until the late 1980s. Li’s solo exhibition centres on the memory of one specific all-nighter he attended, where the playlist included tracks produced by descendants of Chinese indentured labourers in Jamaica. 

Bass, echoes and reverb vibrate across the first floor bedroom of Van Gogh House, interspersed with the sounds of Chinese tribal mountain songs and a sampling of mid 1960’s rocksteady beats. Li’s sound system is situated next to flowing locks of faux hair, often adorned by partygoers, tied to loops of twisting and turning cane. They are juxtaposed by Chinese opera pom poms, net curtains and anchored to leaf patterned concrete bricks. On the ground floor, a dub siren is attached to a 1960’s gossip bench as an interactive object for visitors to play. This is set against a playlist of dub music coming out of another sound system sat on a burgundy carpeted staircase. 

Back-a-Yard Swag acts as a beacon, shining a light on the descendants of Chinese indentured workers, whose recording studios in Kingston have made a significant contribution to the evolution of reggae. The objects and materials brought together by Li, form a structure of new familiarity, acting as cultural agents for polyphonic multiplicity.

Dinu Li is an interdisciplinary artist working with sculptural assemblage, installation and the moving image. His work explores memory, identity, place, space and time. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, notably at the 53rd Venice Biennale. He has presented papers as part of Urban Encounters at Tate Britain in 2017. In 2022, Li was awarded the Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award. Recently, Li was supported by the British Council on a residency in China.