FRI / OCT 23
Opening night
DOORS / 6 PM
PROGRAM / 7 PM
DSTFN / PR-09ART, IDENTITY & THE VERSIONS WE CARRYHALIFAX, NS / 2026
THE ARTIST / THE WORKSTATE_____ONGOINGOCT 23—25, 2026SCROLL TO ENTER ↓
THE INQUIRY
A version is
not the whole.
PROJECT_____DSTFN
ARTIST______NIYI ADEOGUN
STATE_______ONGOING
ORIGIN______LAGOS / HALIFAX
Growing up, “Don’t spoil the family name” was a phrase I heard often. It carried love, pride, responsibility and expectation, but also an awareness of how I was being seen and what was expected of me. Over time, I became interested in what happens when the versions of us created by family, friends, strangers and systems begin shaping the way we understand ourselves.
DSTFN explores that tension through kinetic systems, hand-molded sculpture, mixed media and interactive work. The exhibition asks how we are seen, what being seen does to us, what we inherit, and who ultimately gets the final word on who we become. A version is not the whole. Formation is not definition.
FROM THE ARTIST
Before the work,
a few words.
RECORD_____ARTIST NOTE 001
ARTIST_____NIYI ADEOGUN
PROJECT____DSTFN / PR-09
ARTIST NOTE / 001
PRESENTATION / 001OCTOBER 23—25, 2026
Halifax.
DSTFN / DON’T SPOIL THE FAMILY NAME
FREE ADMISSION
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
BREAKING CIRCUS
2164 AMALAMEK WAY
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
SAT / OCT 24
Exhibition +
film screening
EXHIBITION / 11 AM—4 PM
MY FATHER’S SHADOW / 5 PM
DIRECTED BY AKINOLA DAVIES JR.
SUN / OCT 25
Final viewing
12 PM—6 PM
PRESENTATION 001HALIFAX / 2026STATE_____ACTIVE
PRESENTATION 002CHARLOTTETOWNSTATE_____COMING
PRESENTATION 003TORONTOSTATE_____COMING
PRESENTATION 004MONTRÉALSTATE_____COMING
PRESENTATION 005VANCOUVERSTATE_____COMING
THE EXHIBITION / FOUR ACTS, ONE INQUIRY
How are we
formed?
ACT I / THE GAZE
They see a
version of you.
- 98%
- What Happened To The 2%?
ACT________I
INPUT______BODY
OUTPUT_____VERSION
STATE______MEASURED
INTERLUDE / SOL-1
Presence produces response.
The earlier kinetic research project where part of DSTFN’s responsive language began.
- SOL-1 Interlude
ACT II / THE FORMATION
Pressure becomes posture.
Figures carry, merge, pull and support. Their irregularities remain visible as evidence of how they were made.
- Do They Have Two Heads?
- Carry On
- Come And Put It On My Head
- Remember Whose Child You Are // RÁNTÍ ỌMỌ ẸNI TÍ ÌWỌ Ń ṢE
- Where Do We Draw The Line?
METHOD_____HAND-MOLDED
CONTROL____REDUCED
ERROR______PRESERVED
STATE______FORMING
FORMATION IS NOT DEFINITION.
ACT III / THE INHERITANCE
Some versions existed before you did.
- Longer Throat
- Olojukokoro
- Do They Have Two Heads? Reimagined
Language and family memory carry what was passed down.
EPILOGUE / THE CHOICE
Who gets the
final word?
- The Version They See
- The One That Truly Sees
Which perceptions deserve influence and authority?
ARCHIVE / PARTICIPATORYLONG LIVE THE [__________________]
Long live the
______ name.
| Record | Family name | Location |
|---|
STATE_____ACCUMULATING
0 NAMES IN THIS RECORD
DSTFN CAPSULE / 001STATE_____PRE-ORDERS OPEN
The name,
carried onward.
EXPLORE CAPSULE / 001
