Look What I Found: The Music is Black

As part of Look What I Found: The Music is Black micro-residency at V&A East Storehouse, Kenyan DJ, artist and activist Coco Em and Jamaican visual artist Matthew McCarthy uncover objects from the V&A collection exploring themes of sound system, carnival and procession.

Using ‘carnivalising’ as a disruptive framework to move through the collection at V&A East, Coco Em traces the roles of women shaping society through culture, music, protest and movement and their influence on dominant global art cultures.

Exploring the development of camouflage and the ways in which political patterns find their ways into everyday design, Matthew unearths objects in the V&A collection that communicate hidden meanings, from textiles to radios and portraits.

Look What I Found: The Music is Black is part of a collaborative partnership developed with British Council to invite four international artists to V&A East across two micro-residency periods to explore its collections in relation to V&A East’s inaugural exhibition: The Music is Black: A British Story.

About the Artists:

Coco Em
Coco Em (Emma Mbeke Nzioka) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Kenya with a background in film, photojournalism and animation. Emma is the current creative director of a venue called 'The Mist' that hosts socially and politically conscious artists. Emma was the artistic director of the 13th edition of the Norient festival, Bern. Her DJ career has seen her perform in over 67 cities. Following her EP Kilumi, Coco's debut album releases in 2027 under InFiné. Dubbed 'the hardest hustling DJ' by Okay Africa, Emma uses her platform to advocate for marginalised creative communities via 'Pass Pass', highlighting unfair mobility restrictions.

Matthew McCarthy
Matthew McCarthy is a Jamaica-based multimedia and installation artist. His work is influenced by the aesthetics of Jamaican music culture, particularly vintage reggae and dancehall. His appreciation of the visual forms emerging from that sphere has provided a touchpoint for expressing his messages in a style that feels familiar to his island home of Jamaica. McCarthy received his BFA in visual communication from The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. His career as a street artist has allowed him to form long-lasting connections with various community spaces, with the aim of using public murals as a tool for community uplifting and storytelling. In recent years, his practice has evolved to include a range of media that engage and reference the rich musical history of Jamaica. He has exhibited globally and aims to continue the rich legacy of the powerful Jamaican storytellers and artists that came before him. In 2019, he was awarded The Prime Minister's Youth Award for Excellence for his contributions to nation building and creative achievements

Supported by the British Council