Otis Mensah
Otis Mensah is a British-born, Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans across fields of literature and sound, exploring the aesthetic fabric of language and cadence to evoke ethereal portraits of the body, family and race. Drawing from a rich lineage of Black musicality that informs their poetic-sonic practice, Otis derives multidimensional text from childhood, dreaming and nature. By queering and subverting biblical scripture and parable, Otis’ work exercises magical realism that strives to muddy the waters of memory and archival material.
Following their tenure as the first Poet Laureate of Sheffield, UK, Otis has published a debut poetry collection Safe Metamorphosis with Prototype London and performed live at Glastonbury Music Festival, We Out Here, Fusion, XJAZZ Festival, and shared stages with the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Moor Mother, Benjamin Zephaniah and Little Simz.
“A vivid performance ripe with engaging lyricism, sultry and ethereal melody“
EARMILK
Music
before the noise my cousin
Sonic-Poetic Practice
Come Beautify the Night
A literary-musical composition on the body as landscape, obscuring the borders between self and place. The “Night” refers to that which is subdued and erased, whilst the act of “beautifying” exists as a ritual of resistance. The composition explores notions of refuge and liberty for Black and queer bodies, using a three-act structure, dusk, dawn, and nightfall which represents the body’s journey from dislocation to chosen kin. Mensah leads on piano and voice, accompanied by Adebola Oyekanmi on saxophone and performance artist Jamal Sterrett interprets Mensah’s music through film, movement, and dance.
Exhibited at Hošek Contemporary, Berlin and Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Fawns of the City
A poetic-sonic-dance expression by Otis Mensah & Jamal Sterrett exploring the delicate nature of home, Blackness and ritual-mythology around hair. Premiered at Sheffield DocFest 2024
Sandanee’s dreram
Blue Fire
The Ingot
Poetry and sound work commissioned for Dig Where You Stand
Living and Healed Peoples
Sound & poetry commission by Otis Mensah in response Mi waan go a country go look mango exhibition by Kedisha Coakley (exhibited at Bloc Projects, Sheffield, KARST, Plymouth & Lothringer 13 Halle, Munich)
Data/Opium
Poetic, sonic response to the topic of AI & machine learning in the pharmaceutical industry, inspired by research from the Pattern in Practice team (The University of Sheffield / Festival of the Mind)
Public Art
Artist residency with Museion
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano, Italy
Public Programme Curation
As a curator and writer-facilitator Otis has had a diverse calibre of experience in live events programming, curation and community-organising. Otis has over five years of experience in collaborative projects with the city council, festival organisations, cinemas, theatres and national galleries across Europe. Their work and research of interest spans across fields of literature and performance art with a particular focus on Black diasporic perspectives, Black music and its influence on modern-day culture. Otis uses community-centred engagement methods when approaching public access and prioritises racial justice with an anti-racist lens. At the forefront of their curatorial practice lies the question: how can we best decolonise the ways in which we engage with art in public spaces.
Collaborators include:
Migration Matters Festival
Millennium Gallery`
We Are Parable
Tramlines Music Festival
Off The Shelf – The University of Sheffield