Steve McQueen opens sound exhibition featuring Nina Simone and David Bowie

Artist Steve McQueen has presented a sound sculpture titled 66 to 76 to 26 at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. Euronews reported that the exhibition contains no images and takes place inside a dark room equipped with a few spots of light and a carpet. [1]

According to Euronews, the artwork features the voices of Nina Simone and David Bowie singing the same song acapella from opposite corners of the room. Simone sings from one corner, while Bowie responds with identical words from another corner. [1]

David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, and actor known for his frequent reinvention. Nina Simone, who was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, was an American singer, composer, concert pianist, and civil rights activist. [4][5][8]

Separately, the Guardian reported on a new book detailing the friendship between Nina Simone and poet Langston Hughes, which began after they met in 1949 at a lecture in Asheville, North Carolina. [2]