Joy Inside Our Tears

Jul 15, 2021 - Feb 27, 2022, Wellcome Collection, London

Performers: Harold Offeh, Veronica Codova de la Rosa, Samra Mayanja, Ebun A Sodipo 

Photography & vinyl installation design: Eloise Calandre

Choreography: Vânia Gala

Sound design: Xana

Project support: Jack Scott, James Jordan Johnson

Harold Offeh’s collaborative project, Joy Inside Our Tears, brings together different artists to explore the restorative qualities of dance. The exhibition shares a diversity of euphoric experiences and the effect of positive emotion on the body. Joy can bring catharsis, build resilience and bring people together.

The vinyl installation is designed with photographs cut so that the form of the image works in unison with the architecture of the space and the movement of the bodies.

“The dance floor promises a moment of euphoric release. Originally proposed before the pandemic, the commission was reconfigured due to physical distancing guidelines. The dancers’ movements are produced in response to a series of instructions such as shaking, passing out and dancing in slow motion. The work considers the complex relationship between societal trauma and public manifestations of dance.”

Commissioned by Harold Offeh as part of JOY for the On Happiness exhibition at the Wellcome Collection 15 July 2021—27 February 2022