Interview with Precious Okoyomon (2025)

""The sun eats her children" was born from an Etel Adan poem and Toni Morrison's "Beloved"."

Speaker(s): Precious Okoyomon
Duration: 4 min
© Victor & Simon

In this video, artist Precious Okoyomon guides us through their singular universe, on the occasion of the exhibition Dance With Demons presented at LUMA Arles. They present two works: Beloved and the sun eats her children, installations that intertwine memory, colonization, and racialization.

The installation the sun eats her children immerses the viewer in a strange and enchanting garden, populated by poisonous plants and butterflies. At the heart of this magical yet unsettling ecosystem lies Beloved, a teddy bear with closed eyes, which periodically lets out a primal, surprising, and visceral scream.

The name Beloved echoes the novel by Toni Morrison, in which a mother, haunted by the ghost of her daughter, embodies the indelible traumas of slavery.

These two works challenge the traditional image of nature as a peaceful and pure place. By blending violence, beauty, and fragility, Precious Okoyomon explores cycles of life, destruction, and regeneration.