In his installation “19 Toques for GNM“, artist and musician Jan St. Werner, in collaboration with voodoo percussionist Tunde Alibaba, breathes life into the permanent exhibition of the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Central to this work is the batá drum, a double-headed hourglass drum rooted in the Yorùbá music of Benin. In voodoo practices, the batá is traditionally used to animate various aspects of daily life through intricate rhythmic phrases known as toques.
For “19 Toques for GNM,” Alibaba draws from his personal reflections within the museum to craft these toques. Each drumhead of the batá is recorded separately, with the sounds played back through loudspeakers positioned at the farthest points of the respective museum spaces. As a result, each of the 19 exhibition rooms is transformed into the interior of a batá—a resonant chamber where the collection is reimagined.
The toques serve as responses and commentaries, attuned to the distinct character of each room within the GNM, reminding us that cultural influence extends beyond the visible. The irregular pauses between the toques create polyrhythmic interactions across the rooms, linking them acoustically and inviting new associations within the museum’s architecture. This interplay between object, vibration, and listener recontextualizes the collection, adding a new dimension to the experience of the museum’s space—one that challenges Eurocentric traditions and opens up fresh perspectives.
The batá itself is a migratory instrument, originating in Nigeria and closely associated with voodoo. It is a medium of communication, an instrument of activation, and a vessel of cultural transmission, carrying voodoo to regions such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and the United States.
19.11. – 21.12.2021
Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg
Curated by Çağla Ilk and Tuncay Kulaoglu
