Olalekan Jeyifous imagines Mississippi River-centered society at Walker Art Center

Olalekan Jeyifous, a Brooklyn-based artist and trained architect, presents 'Hydricosmic Litanies' at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis from 6 August 2026 to 3 January 2027. The solo exhibition envisions a society evolved around the Mississippi River's ecology, featuring digital collages where highways that displaced Black neighborhoods become waterways for aquaculture, travel, and housing, alongside 3D-printed sculptures of cultural artifacts and deities. Curated by Taylor Jasper, the show explores communal societies, human-nature relationships, and joyful Black life. Jeyifous, a Wallpaper* US400 honoree, previously exhibited 'The Frozen Neighborhoods' at MoMA's 'Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America' and won the Silver Lion at the 2023 Venice Biennale for 'ACE/AAP'. His practice uses hand drawing, photo montage, collage, and AI to create 'protopias'—ongoing projects distinct from utopias. Mabel O. Wilson of Columbia University calls him 'the next Lebbeus Woods'. Jeyifous also has 'Ancestral Ecologies' at Brooklyn Botanic Garden until 25 October 2026, created with AD-WO, featuring decomposable sculptures and recycled glass. He identifies with the Yoruba Abiku myth and rejects the current world order, advocating for mutual respect among cultures. His public art includes a Coachella sculpture (2017), a New York subway station, an installation at the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago with Amanda Williams, and a monument for Shirley Chisholm.