Working under the name SCRAAATCH, artists E. Jane and chukwumaa create dynamic multimedia presentations, experimental music, and hybrid DJ sets. Their first solo exhibition at Company, Distortion Play, sets the stage for experimentation through various modes of transmission, including audio, video, and multi-channel projections.

At the core of the exhibition is Rolling Bar Prototype 3 (2024), a multi-function sound sculpture that merges lenticular lenses from a large screen televisions with built-in samplers and effects processors. This fusion of materials transforms the piece into a dynamic object, capable of manipulating sound, light, and projections in complex ways throughout the gallery. Drawing inspiration from both Harry Bertoia’s sound sculptures and furniture featured on reality TV sets, particularly in pre-fight scenes, the sculpture serves as both a stage and a backdrop forperformances that range from rehearsed to improvisational. Audiences will be invited to witness these performances either in person or remotely through CCTV footage.

The concept of ambience—particularly as it relates to music, surveillance, and the Black body—runs through the work. In our current surveillance culture, the act of recording and immediately sharing moments via smartphones has become normalized, echoing a practice long embedded in mass media and entertainment, especially through reality TV and social media. The omnipresence of CCTV cameras and camera operators shapes behaviors, driving plotlines, conflicts, and actions. These elements push participants to perform, often unconsciously, in ways informed by the consumption of media, while the staging and production elements fade into the background, rendering the act of surveillance nearly invisible - ie. ambient.

By activating the sculpture through performance, SCRAAATCH challenges this model. Taking control of every aspect of the media in the room, they disrupt the ways Black experiences are often distorted, manipulated, and misrepresented. When the artists are not present, the sculpture continues to function as an audio-visual installation, with the setup evolving based on prior performances. During these intervals, recordings from previous sessions play throughout the space, maintaining an ongoing dialogue between the artwork and its audience.

SCRAAATCH invites you attend the following performances:

Saturday, November 2nd, 6:00 pm

Thursday, November 14th, 5:00 pm

Friday, December 13th, 5:00 pm

SCRAAATCH has performed and exhibited experiments at venues including MoMA PS1, Artists Space, The Kitchen, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and the New Museum in New York, Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Institute of Contemporary Art in Virginia, and Les Urbaines in Switzerland. They were 2020-2022 Harvard College Fellows in New Media, where they taught classes on performance and sound, and recently attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. They were recent resident artists at the Center for AfroFuturist Studies in Iowa City and 2023 artists-in-residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha.

In addition to being resident DJs on NTS Radio in London, SCRAAATCH releases have included “Teardrops EP” (2019), "DON'T TALK TO ME REMIXES” (2022), and contributions to compilation albums by Sermon 3 Record's “Sermon 4 Anniversary” (2020), Parisian label ParkingStone's “Virgō” (2021) and artist Kevin Beasley's "A View of a Landscape" (2023). The artists are originally from Prince George's County, Maryland, and are currently based in Brooklyn, New York.