vPPR Architects, led by director Jessica Reynolds, have recently completed the exhibition design for John Akomfrah’s commission, Listening All Night To The Rain, at the British Pavilion for the 2024 Venice Art Biennale.

Exploring post-colonialism, environmental devastation and the politics of aesthetics, Listening All Night To The Rain is Akomfrah’s boldest and most ambitious commission to date. Organised in a series of song-like movements, or ‘cantos’, the exhibition brings together eight interlocking and overlapping multimedia and sound installations into a single and immersive environment that tells stories of migrant diasporas in Britain. The exhibition tells global stories through the ‘memories’ of people who represent migrant communities in Britain and examines how multiple geopolitical narratives are reflected in the experiences of diasporic people more broadly.

Each gallery space layers together a specific colour field, influenced by the paintings of American artist Mark Rothko, in order to highlight the ways in which abstraction can represent the fundamental nature of human drama.

The exhibition was curated by Shane Akeroyd and Associate Curator Tarini Malik. John Akomfrah’s British Council Commission for the British Pavilion will run from 20 April – 24 November 2024.

Image: © Listening All Night To The Rain, Canto V by John Akomfrah. Image by Jack Hems.