Space Afrika and Valentin Noujaim's 'The Dark Wood' at ICA London

The exhibition 'The Dark Wood' at ICA London, on view from 6 to 14 June 2026, is a collaborative installation by Manchester-based electronic duo Space Afrika (Josh and Joshua) and filmmaker Valentin Noujaim. The work uses Dante's Inferno as a loose framework to explore Manchester's post-industrial transformation, gentrification, and the erasure of working-class history. It combines Noujaim's 35mm film 'Opera Omnia' (2025, 12 min) with sound, dialogue, and installation, creating a non-linear, immersive experience. The film, shot on 35mm and mixed with 16mm and surveillance footage, uses the medium's material decay to mirror memory's instability. The exhibition features a circular seated room with a soundscape, encouraging visitors to dwell in ambiguity. The collaborators discuss Manchester as a living archive, listening as witnessing, and the built environment as an active participant. The project highlights the city's rapid gentrification, with factories becoming towers, and aims to honor the ghosts of the past. The collaboration emphasizes trust, shared language, and the interplay between cinema, sound, and architecture.