Earth Eaters 
25 september - 4 october 2020


In partnership with Hoxton 253 Art Project Space
253 Hoxton St, Whitmore Estate, London N1 5LG
25th September - 4th October
Daily 12 - 8 pm

Featuring: Sol Bailey-Barker, Natasha Bird, Charly Blackburn, Ebinum Brothers, William Cobbing, Kathryn Graham, Byzantia Harlow, Gregory Herbert, Jane Lawson, Dunstan Low, Tasha Marks | AVM Curiosities, The Institute of Queer Ecology, Hannah Walton, Charlie Warde, Russell Webb, Trystan Williams, William York

Having experienced the fallout from a global pandemic, we now know that we not only anticipated the exact situation we are in (see the film Contagion for nostradamus like predictions),  but we potentially could have had the vaccine for it by now. Those countries that prepared and handled it correctly, avoided death tolls that surpassed those of WW2 and international economic freefall.  Why was it that we did not do something about our impending doom when we had all the warning signs? Will we now learn that lesson and take action against climate change  - an outcome of which we cannot learn how to simply live alongside  - and that we have known about since it was discovered in 1824 - when French physicist Joseph Fourier describes the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect"

EARTH EATERS is an alternative name for the condition Geophagia - the practice in humans and animals of eating earth or more specifically the clay and mineral content within it. It is part of a larger eating disorder called Pica - the consumption of non nutritive substances such as clay, starch, ice and chalk.  This behaviour is usually found in people that have underlying deficiencies (blood cells, haemoglobin or zinc). That said, Pica has been practiced since 400BC and has both positive and negative consequences. This exhibition will explore soil’s potential role in prevention of climate change, the artistic use of soil/earth as medium, and calls on us to readdress, and promote the health of, the vital substance that we take for granted.

One of the things that makes soil such a fundamental component of any climate change mitigation strategy is because it represents a long-term storage of carbon. With news that the permafrost (the frozen layer of soil that has underlain the Arctic tundra for millennia) is now starting to thaw, we are now able to excavate mammoths from their ancient graves, and the race between world leaders to exploit the vast untapped resources of the Arctic signifies our total rejection of warning signs which we cannot afford to ignore.

By exploring the relationships between philosophy and nature, the personal and the political, destruction and construction, and considering the distinction of non-human and human agents- the works in EARTH EATERS will question what is at stake in the ecological crises of the 21st century. This will be navigated by blending diverse areas of expertise, including paintings, sculptures, videos and installations to challenge the conventional systems of classification, suggesting a worldview that strives to dislocate humans from their assumed position of centrality and superiority as knowers and actors in the world.






Ritual for a New Regime 
12 june - 19 july 2020


Featuring work by Sol Bailey- Barker, Rebecca Bellantoni & Rowdy SS, Emma Fisher, Candida Powell- Williams

ONLINE OPENING PROGRAM 
4pm  Ritual for a New Regime Walk
5pm Emma Fisher "Lamentation for the Space Between"
6pm Rebecca Bellantoni & Rowdy SS  "Do I Worry? (MAMA) 2020

*The origin story of this exhibition is now a familiar one: cancellations and postponements of all upcoming events. Adaptation is key, and so, we have adapted to our new environment, installing works physically in an ex military base in North London, but presenting them to a virtual audience. In doing so we ensure that care for ourselves and each other is a priority, but at the same time nurturing our intrinsic creativity

Nothing has become more evident in this crisis than the natural balance of the Earth being disturbed through humanity’s exploitation of its resources. The crisis has also highlighted systemic injustices and unevenly distributed weaknesses in our societies. What does the cessation of salaries mean to the Capitalocene and how does the invisible threat of a global disease impact the idea of the Anthropocene?

In a world where Science Fiction very quickly becomes Science Fact, is there the possibility that we can create a new reality, or a new story in this very short window of hiatus, that could permanently affect mankind’s onward trajectory into a more symbiotic relationship with the natural and technological world and more equitable relationships with each other? Harraway’s pursuit of kinship between man/animal/nature/technology could be key to our survival. If we do not succeed, it could lead to an existence more along the lines of James Lovelock’s idea of the Novacene, the Hyper Intelligent Age in which mankind assumes the role of domestic plants maintained by superior AI masters. Regardless of which world could come to pass, this is the time to consider alternatives to the current status quo, and ensure that a return to what we called normal doesn’t return.

Challenging the idea of what an exhibition is, who is the audience and what is its purpose – this collaboration uses this time of enforced reflection to imagine and prepare for a new reality in which traditional modes of thinking are reconceptualised. Rebecca Bellatoni’s performances investigate our preconceived notions of the accepted ‘real’ and the experiential ‘real’, thinking through possible ways of rupturing those borders, and for Ritual for a New Regime she is collaborating with Rowdy SS, who works at the intersection of sound/music, masculine and feminine, giving life to new and old concepts, processes, traditions and techniques. Candida Powell-Williams’ freestanding sculptures exist in the threshold between two states of mind-  subscribing to both scientific logic and an evidence based understanding of the world, whilst simultaneously employing esoteric behaviour, juxtaposing withSol Bailey Barker’s techno shamanic totems which are the embodiments of Biotechnophillic ecosystem caretakers which, having been installed in an old military base, also act as guardians to a potential otherworldly ceremonial site.

Coming together in varying intersections and a time when society is at a crossroads, all the artists featured in this exhibition break down the boundaries of what we thought we knew and invite the viewer to anticipate what our new reality could be.

Produced by Will Davis
Filmed by Katarzyna Perlak




Visual Tonic — 24 march - 29 july 2020


(online programming in partnership with the lexi cinema, kensal rise)

Featuring: Akinola Davies Jr, Lori E Allen, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Sean Capone, Rachel Maclean, Katarsyna Perlak, Kate MccGwire, Olivia Norris, Charlie Warde, Lone Taxidermist, Manu Luksch

In these troubling times we need to unite and support each other, which is how we came to create Visual Tonic- a selected series of video art that Cole Projects is curating in partnership with Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise. The goal of this initiative is “keep the lights on” at the Lexi - an indie cinema staffed by volunteers, who run loads of great community projects and have been forced to close their doors.

We have been busy sourcing some really exciting video art- some familiar, some yet to be discovered. The selected works will be included in the Lexi's e-newsletter and on the cinema website, alongside the free-to-view "Virtual Lexi" programme being put together by the cinema team. If you believe you have the cure (or a mindblowing video piece) that you want to put forward, please drop the link in an email and we will look into it. We are always on the hunt.

Sign up to your repeat prescription here: https://thelexicinema.co.uk/newsletter @thelexicinema @britishfilminstitute @mubi @_openculture 



Sovereignty in Chaos
11 december 2019 - 3 january 2020


Kunstraum LLLLLL Verein für Kunst der Gegenwart
Seidlgasse 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria

This exhibition is not only concerned with how our global governing bodies are free falling from one catastrophe to the next, but it also draws on Neurohacker Jordan Greenhall’s strategy of self determination and drawing the idea of Sovereignty inward. By using our individual agency to contribute to collective multimodal action, we can ride the storm of flux that we increasingly find ourselves caught up in.

All of the artists in this exhibition: Julia Belova, Katharina Cibulka, Luisa Kasalicky, Gašper Kunšič, Christiane Peschek and Céline Struger offer alternatives to our predetermined frameworks.

As democracy rose in strength, placing power in the hands of the people, we realised that there could be no peace without law, and these laws inherently bound Sovereignty's powers. Alarmingly, today these democracies are struggling- slipping back towards authoritarian control, while simultaneously social structures such as politics, gender, identity, religion, and even basic premises of truth and justice- are now mercurial and we need to reconsider our positions on what we thought we knew, and why we believed it in the first place. The adjustment of these structures is typically considered to be a paradigm shift, and today these paradigms are collapsing too quickly and we cannot adjust quickly enough leaving us in a period of crisis.

To respond efficiently we must perceive reality, then use our perception to create meaning and finally - take direct and efficient action. Katharina Cibulka’s almost activist practice addresses the need for creative (= active) re-authorization in a time of unreasonableness- symbolic of this is her plaque that reads “"Vivat Ratio / Irratio” (To Live Ir/rationally). Her work sees injustice - the way women are treated in the artworld, or artists not being paid, but then uses her visibility to call this out, and change the status quo. Christiane Peschek’s “Girls Club” 2019 also has agency to redefine normalised conditions of female beauty -  in an act of rebellion that rejects the objectification of the female face, she distorts selfies taken with plastic surgery apps to a point where she can no longer be recognised.

By Sovereignty, Greenhall doesn’t just mean independence of thought and action, but also a deeper sense of integrity beyond ego and ideological frameworks. Instead of there being a hierarchy, we need to work simultaneously - be multimodal, collaborative with no ownership. Blockchain is one example of this decentralisation, and we should apply this way of thinking to  our relationship with machines, animals, and vegetation. Celine Struger’s “Limbic Resonance” and “Tender Prey” (2019) raises the question of who is doing the reclaiming (e.g. marginalised groups, future generations, alien invaders, machines, nature) and at the expense of whom. The works exhibited indicate vegetal growth and tackle issues such as animacy and mimicry. 

Each generation has to take responsibility for their actions and recognise that the societal structures that worked before no longer do - we cannot strive to return to the past and instead should anticipate the future.  In “Medley: Silber” (2016) Luisa Kasalicky reimagines old structures, environments, architecture. A painter, yet her works rarely conform to a two dimensional painting frame. While simultaneously dismantling old structures, we also need to employ the notion of the “myth” more readily. We used to use allegories to represent morality (religion is representative of this), but in a secular society that is facing extinction we need to utilise this method of communication once again to unite us against seeming abstract notions of the End Time. In "Upward Tears" and “Silent Mountain" (2019) Gašper Kunšič delves into source material discovered in archives and breathes new life into it by inserting nostalgia, melancholy and loss. The emotions that are woven into the symbols and situations could be read as a strategy of the feminine - destroying the predetermined framework of gender constructions.

Another aspect of Kunšič’s practice is to dismantle our depiction of heroes- in ancient times a man had to appear strong and brave, but now society considers men to be strong when they show weaknesses. Society needs to adopt to these traditionally “feminine” qualities - we need to nurture and care for ourselves, each other and our environment. This is the most crucial strategy Greenhall prescribes -  we have to give space and energy to the rise of the feminine. Julia Belova’s “More Tenderness...More” (2017) explores femininity, creating soft sculptures which are very tender, erotic and powerful at the same time. The phallic forms made out of white fabric, velvet and plastic-  decorated with pearls, sequins and plumage. Verging on the edge of kitsch, her work is a challenge to cult of the phallus. By extension, this is not the idea of the feminine as an attribute that only cis females have. It is a restructure of the framework that we have been living with. The feminine, once deemed as weak, now is a universal power that we can all employ and is crucial to our survival.

www.LLLLLL.at
www.reinholdzisser.com
info@LLLLLL.at
0043 650 6554505

PART OF THE “TATTOO SERIES_”
In 2015, Christoph Srb and Reinhold Zisser founded an artist run space in Seidlgasse 14, 1030 Vienna. The name of the space □□□□□■ (also written LLLLLL) was created from the light boxes which are attached to the exterior facade. In 2018 Zisser started an artistic project that used his artist run space as material for a conceptual artwork, by showing off the room at Parallelvienna, transferring these light boxes as a central element of a room installation to the fair. The following offer was made there: Each artist, each curator, who has the symbol, the name of the space □□□□□■ tattooed received a solo exhibition in 2019.


We Sing the Body Electric—
2 - 28th August 2019 


Gallery 46, 46 Ashfield St, Whitechapel, London E1 2AJ
Private view: Thursday 1 August 6-9pm 
Hours 12- 6pm Tuesday to Saturday

All-female exhibition featuring: Ingrid Berthon-Moine, Stine Deja, Enam GbewonyoBex IlsleyJuliette Mahieux Bartoli, Laila Majid, Alix MarieStacie McCormickMarie Munk, Fern Lucia O'CarolanKatarzyna Perlak, Cherelle Sappleton, Karolina Stellaki, Rebecca Wallis.

The exhibition title is taken from the Walt Whitman poem I Sing the Body Electric from 1855. Visionary for its time and increasingly relevant today, Whitman made the case for the inclusion of women in the democratic body by deconstructing the idea that the figure is always gendered-  it is either male or female reducing social constructions to the idea of the “naked meat of the body”. Whitman’s thoughts about bodily communion as a metaphor for unifying America's demos, and his inability to openly write about the male body as he was unable to address his unconfirmed homosexuality at the time, effectively created a universal love-poem that can be applied to all bodies and the identity politics of today that has moved beyond these binaries to create a fluid, fragmented, and dynamic collectivity of possible sexualities that can vary at different points during one’s life.

To do this, part of the strategy was to focus on one part of the body at a time, essentially fragmenting the human body into separate parts, removing the traditionally scopophilic qualities of observing naked female bodies: “lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean”. This challenges the idea of the active male gaze put forward by feminist theorist Laura Mulvey, where men get pleasure and power from looking upon a passive female subject, dismantling and“decentralising” the male gaze, thereby removing the male position of authority and exposing the system of oppression.

We are witnessing the regrouping of feminism as a social movement across every area of society - from the “Time’s Up” movement in Hollywood to the International Women’s Strike  - and the art industry is no exception. The increased efforts of art institutions and exhibitions pushing female only shows, like this one, has been met with some criticism, discrediting the merit of the work, instead placing priority on gender and nationalities. The diversity of the practices in We Sing The Body Electric highlight new ways that artists are dealing with the body- with a focus on it’s materiality which recalibrates the traditional female nude from the objectified into a confrontational subject, conveying an idea or universal reality, like Whitman’s poem.


“i sing the body electric,” walt whitman

O my body! I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the likes of the parts of you,
I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the soul, (and that they are the soul,)
I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems, and that they are poems,
Man’s, woman’s, child’s, youth’s, wife’s, husband’s, mother’s, father’s, young man’s, young woman’s poems;
Head, neck, hair, ears, drop and tympan of the ears,
Eyes, eye-fringes, iris of the eye, eye-brows, and the waking or sleeping of the lids,
Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges,
Nose, nostrils of the nose, and the partition,
Cheeks, temples, forehead, chin, throat, back of the neck, neck-slue,
Strong shoulders, manly beard, scapula, hind-shoulders, and the ample side-round of the chest,
Upper-arm, arm-pit, elbow-socket, lower-arm, arm-sinews, arm-bones,
Wrist and wrist-joints, hand, palm, knuckles, thumb, fore-finger, finger-balls, finger-joints, finger-nails,
Broad breast-front, curling hair of the breast, breast-bone, breast-side,
Ribs, belly, back-bone, joints of the back-bone,
Hips, hip-sockets, hip-strength, inward and outward round, man-balls, man-root,
Strong set of thighs, well carrying the trunk above,
Leg-fibres, knee, knee-pan, upper-leg, under leg,
Ankles, instep, foot-ball, toes, toe-joints, the heel;
All attitudes, all the shapeliness, all the belongings of my or your body, or of any one’s body, male or female,
The lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean,
The brain in its folds inside the skull-frame,
Sympathies, heart-valves, palate-valves, sexuality, maternity,
Womanhood, and all that is a woman, and the man that comes from woman,
The womb, the teats, nipples, breast-milk, tears, laughter, weeping, love-looks, love-perturbations and risings,
The voice, articulation, language, whispering, shouting aloud,
Food, drink, pulse, digestion, sweat, sleep, walking, swimming,
Poise on the hips, leaping, reclining, embracing, arm-curving and tightening,
The continual changes of the flex of the mouth, and around the eyes,
The skin, the sun-burnt shade, freckles, hair,
The curious sympathy one feels, when feeling with the hand the naked meat of the body,
The circling rivers, the breath, and breathing it in and out,
The beauty of the waist, and thence of the hips, and thence downward toward the knees,
The thin red jellies within you, or within me, the bones, and the marrow in the bones,
The exquisite realization of health;
O I say these are not the parts and poems of the Body only, but of the soul,
O I say now these are the soul!