Manchester's Space Afrika bring immersive new film installation to London's ICA this week

London's ICA has a new immersive exhibition open this week, and it comes at you courtesy of two artists with deep ties to Manchester's experimental scene.

The Dark Wood, a new film and sound installation from duo Space Afrika and filmmaker Valentin Noujaïm, is now open at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, running until 14th June. Centred around Noujaïm's new 35mm film Opera Omnia (2025), the exhibition follows the film's nocturnal journey through Manchester, with the installation - across film, dialogue and sound - approaching urban space as a site of memory, recurrence and disappearance.

Ready to step into The Dark Wood? Find more information and secure your tickets to the ICA exhibition - HERE

View this post on Instagram

Opera Omnia follows two Black teenagers, navigating a strange and dark night in Manchester, guided by Space Afrika’s haunting soundscapes. As the boys are pulled into an urban odyssey, the film becomes a surreal, Lynchian exploration of the city’s underground that draws on Dante’s Inferno as a loose point of departure, moving through themes of descent, return and encounter. Dante’s text continues through a new dialogue-based work and a sound installation composed by Space Afrika for the exhibition. 

Together, the works hold image, voice and sound in close relation, moving through repetition, interruption and drift. Across a 45-60 minute journey, Manchester itself becomes more than a backdrop, appearing not simply as a setting, but as a place in which traces, histories, and voices continue to accumulate. 

For fans of Space Afrika's atmospheric, genre-blurring work, or Noujaïm's striking visual style, the collaboration offers a fascinating meeting point between cinema, contemporary art and sound design. Together, they've created a work that drifts between disciplines, inviting visitors to lose themselves in its dreamlike exploration of urban space.

The Dark Wood is open now at the ICA London until 14th June, with hourly entry slots available between 12pm and 7pm daily and under-25s going for just £5.

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, and YouTube for the latest music and events content.  

Header image credit: ICA