Seyi Adelekun: (un)drowned

Rooted in Black feminist theory, Adelekun’s work asks: what does it mean to be submerged, yet remain undrowned? To survive in deep waters, to breathe beneath the surface and to reclaim one's voice?

(un)drowned draws from Black Mary’s Well, a source of the River Fleet once tended by Mary Wollaston, a 17th-century Black well keeper in Clerkenwell. Once a site of public healing, ancestral technology and a collective resource, the well is now polluted and buried. Its untold history becomes a lens to express how colonialism and its legacies continue to devalue certain bodies, human and more-than-human, rendering them unworthy of care.

Set in the New Wing Stairwell, this immersive ceremony is performed by Wellkeepers, a live experimental vocal group, weaving water percussion, movement and breathwork with hydrophone recordings and shared testimonies to amplify voices of the unheard and unseen. Adelekun invites us to draw from our inner wells and engage in practices that replenish our collective well-being.

Wellkeepers: Chloe Filani, Christine Bramwell, Hillarynx, Seyi Adelekun and Vee Belinga

Sound design in collaboration with Eden Alero.

Seyi Adelekun is supported by the Assembly Residency opportunity, a 12-month programme for emerging artists shaped by Somerset House Studios in collaboration with artist mentors Beatrice Dillon and Elaine Mitchener.

(un)drowned is developed with the support of Somerset House Studios, The Place and Arts Council England.