The tailbone is a hidden remnant of human evolution, tying us to the nudity of the crawling animal.
The exhibition explores the play between human and non-human, sense and non-sense, as well as past and future. In the use of animated visual effects transporting us to an otherworldly dimension, or in the playful debasement of familiar historical figures, re-imagined fragments and expansions upon animal and human existence will temporarily cohabit.
Setting the scene within a former nightclub, artworks will act as characters re-enchanting the mythical bacchanalian scenery of The Artesian Well, adding another layer to its ever-evolving story.
With the emphasis on the Saturday 26th Private View event, Tailbone reflects an urge to escape current reality, just as the nightclub created a place to break away from the monotony of the working week.
Iulia Filipovscaia, Katia Kesic and Charlie Hawksfield are all artists living in guardianship properties on the Wandsworth Road. 'Stuff of the Universe' brings these very different artists together.
The show’s title draws on a quote from the French Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:
‘Every spirit derives its reality and nature from a particular type of universal synthesis. There is neither spirit nor matter in the world; the stuff of the universe is spirit-matter.”
From different standpoints; cultural, holistic and experiential, the artists examine their own identity, how it was formed, how it can be understood and how it can be portrayed as Stuff of the Universe today. Incorporating installation, ceramics, painting and printmaking techniques, the work will be presented in the highly unusual surroundings of a disused nightclub.
The Artesian Wells was formally owned by sculptor Rudy Weller. It is full of it's own curios and character, including stain glass freezes, murals, figurative sculptures and a glass dance floor.
Staged within former nightclub The Artesian Well, Undercurrents aims to agitate the expected relationship between artworks and their setting.
Placed amongst the venue’s absurd mythological decor, Undercurrents invites the audience to seek out sculpture, film and performance as lines are blurred between props and fine art, high and low culture, as well as private and public space.
Interrogating the soul is an art exhibition curated by Rena Strati and Kershaw Lawrence.
Through a carefully selected collection of works and performances the show presents a diverse response to the intricacies surrounding the reality of human fragility.
ARTISTS:
Kershaw Lawrence, Nicole Lenihan, Luca Federici,
Nicole Ragan, Amy Higgins, Charlie Hawksfield,
Victoria Cantons, Sid Black, Tabitha Sutherland, Mircha Ivens, Clara Dias, Jamie Scott Dyson, Panic Attack,
Rafail Kokkinos, Thomas Witherick, Alex Smith, Zita Baracsi,
Krisztina Toth, Jose Rafael, Maciej Pekala, Stefanie Ferraz.
For more information visit the Facebook event.
ETC Magazine - December 2015.
Words by Laura Cartledge, photographs by Henrietta Brierley.
To view full size, click the image.
Sussex Life Magazine - November 2015.
Words by Alice Cooke, photographs by Henrietta Brierley.
To view full size, click the image.
