Press

During the silence of lockdown, questions about how the pandemic would affect the development of cities began to circle frantically. While established models threatened to crumble, in the property world, planning restrictions were relaxed to encourage building and accelerate development. In an ex-military site in north London, curator Camilla Cole has made use of this transitional period for a new project that reflects upon the current, peculiar moment in history. 

Review by Gabriella Sonabend

*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.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my local garden centre was already stocking up for Christmas. Watching Santa’s grotto ready to be assembled in mid-September shouldn’t surprise me as it happens every year at this time, but somehow it did. Retailers term the run-up to Christmas and other holidays as The Golden Quarter. Sculptor Corey Whyte has appropriated the title for his first solo exhibition which looks at the way society operates within a culture of commodification and how society itself has become commodified. What we call Christmas was originally the pagan ritual of Yule that celebrated the winter solstice before it was appropriated by the Christian religion. Through the passage of time, the community-based celebrations wedded to the seasons have been replaced, or twisted in Whyte’s view, into a consumer-fest that has perverted its original intentions. We must indulge and celebrate or we’re missing out.

London Live featured We Sing the Body Electric on its programe - the piece included a conversation about the concept of the show and a discussion with Enam Gbewonyo about her practice.

There’s a lot going on in London next week but here is our choice of 13 exhibitions you have to try and catch hopefully we will bump into you when we are out and about.

 Number 9:  Cole Projects is to present Corey Whyte’s first solo exhibition; “Enter the Golden Quarter” featuring six new sculptures and accompanying drawings. Taking its title from the economic period in the lead up to the holidays where the retail industry hopes to make the most profit, the exhibition is appropriately timed to coincide with Frieze Art Fair, October 2019.

A new all-female group exhibition that takes a subversive look at how artists address the female body in their work, from twisting the traditional nude to sculptures featuring fragmented body parts. Juliette Mahieux Bartoli, Stacie McCormick, Alix Marie, Marie Munk and Katarzyna Perlak are some of the featured artists, whose powerful works offer an alternative look at women and the body. The exhibition’s title is adapted from that of an 1855 poem by Walt Whitman, who championed the notion that the body can be understood separately from gender, masculinity and femininity.

In 1855, Walt Whitman wrote 'I Sing the Body Electric', a poem deconstructing the human body into its component parts ("The lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean" etc.) that argued for male and female equality. The American poet's creation was before its time in several senses, not least in its rejection of conventional gender divisions. It's now the inspiration behind this group exhibition of contemporary female artists who pick up where Walt left off and continue rethinking the female nude and male expectations of it. 

Whitman included a number of female attributes, most notably emotions, into the mix of the body, and therefore the soul. As this year marks the bi-centenary of Whitman’s birth, Cole couldn’t resist tying his democratising of the body to what women have been objecting to in terms of gender and racial discrimination. She has assembled the works of 14 female artists from around the world, with an age range of 18-60, all dealing with parts of the body in their own distinctive ways. For example, Whitman refers to the “naked meat of the body”. This influenced Danish artist Marie Munk to create the sculpture Block, above, that consists of silicon mixed with minced meat. We’re all made of naked flesh, no matter who we are, is its message. “The idea behind this show is to create a new angle on it and to see that we’re all the same under it all within the naked flesh needs of the body as Whitman says,” Cole tells me. “They (the artists) are saying there are other elements to us and it’s not just feminine ideals. None of the artists in the show are saying particularly feminine things or anything like that. It’s actually quite the opposite.” 

We discussed the changing landscape of working in the contemporary art world pre financial crash until now, and the different ways to exhibit and support artists.  Although today many of us come into contact with art in the context of museums and galleries, there are many more opportunities to engage with art in an exciting range of contexts, places and spaces. From the early wunderkammer of the 16th Century to the display of fine and decorative art in private homes as a symbol of wealth and power, art has always been consumed in private as well as public spaces. With the birth of museums in the 18th century and their expansion throughout the 19th century, there has been increasingly democratic opportunities to view, buy and consume art. The art world today is characterised by an incredible diversity in the ways we can see and be surrounded by art - from carefully curated spaces to unexpected encounters in the street.

We spoke with Paco Del Rey on Gender Fluidity (a research blog on identity politics, queer culture and performance art) about We Sing the Body Electric as a celebration of female agency, working at the intersections between body and soul, identity and technology.

“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”Walt Whitman wrote the poem ‘I Sing the Body Electric’ for the 1855 collection ‘Leaves of Grass’, “making a case for the inclusion of women in the democratic body by deconstructing the idea that the figure is always gendered”. The poem is a universal declaration of love to the human species, which cherishes all bodies and identities.

What's on: top pick of exhibitions to see in London from the Culture Whsiper: "Walt Whitman's poem I Sing the Body Electric was a work ahead of its time, outlining an idea of the human form as 'naked meat', without gender. Taking Whitman's poem as inspiration, 15 females artists have formed a group show at Gallery 46. Look out for Alix Marie's un-gendered sex toys and Cherelle Sappleton's fleshy collages"

We Sing the Body Electric listed as best of art exhbitions in London on Country and Town House.

Looking to soak up some culture in the capital? The search ends here; read our roundup of the best art exhibitions in London. So whether it’s contemporary classics, abstract showcases or breathtaking photography that you crave, you’ll find it here. Camilla Cole has curated this female-centric multimedia exhibition featuring works by fifteen different female artists of diverse ages and backgrounds. Inspired by the late great poet Walt Whitman’s ‘I Sing The Body Electric’, this exhibition looks at the history of women’s bodies being sexualised, along with themes of sexual expression, gender fluidity and the male gaze.

A piece of art via Cole Projects. Founded by Camilla Cole, Cole Projects is a curatorial dealership that supports emerging artists by giving 80% of profits back to the artist when a piece is sold, rather than the usual 50%. Passionate about transparency and dismantling the exclusive stereotype of the art world, a Cole Projects exhibition will always be found in off-the-radar spaces, collaborating with independent institutions, selling work to curate more exhibitions to then showcase more budding talent. And the price tags needn't put you off. Cole Projects work with Own Art, which means a £2000 piece can be payed off in £100 monthly instalments.