Sophia Al-Maria and Lydia Ourahmane's 'The Pits' at Somerset House

Sophia Al-Maria and Lydia Ourahmane present 'The Pits,' a participatory installation at Somerset House Studios' project space G31, running for four months in 2025. The work dialogues with their outdoor commission '2125' on Lancaster Place, exploring how postcolonial and late capitalist social narratives affect emotional and physical well-being. The artists frame sitting and resting as acts of quiet defiance and a way to reckon with historical weight. The installation transforms the space into a black box that shifts and bends, inviting the public to dwell, rearrange, and book it free of charge for events like discussions, gatherings, performances, and readings. 'The Pits' challenges the myth that society is evolving toward greater civility and rationality through mindfulness and self-care, instead creating a space for unresolved emotions. The title references the theatre's belly, stomach sensations, and the void when things go wrong, intended as an unapologetic room for collectively exploring difficult feelings and what cannot be metabolized into productivity, including contemporary politics, debt, and bureaucracy.