With a debut by Khanyisile Mbongwa, curator of the 2023 Liverpool Biennial, The Sun Never Sets is an expansive online project that explores the enduring effects of the British Empire from the perspectives of its former colonies.
The Sun Never Sets is an expansive online project that explores the enduring effects of the British Empire from the perspectives of its former colonies.
It debuts in southern Africa with a group exhibition conceived by Khanyisile Mbongwa, curator of the 2023 Liverpool Biennial. Zul’bambe Linga’shoni takes its title and signal from an isiXhosa gwijo that is sung during an initiation or rite of passage ceremonies.The exhibiting artists were invited to delve into the archival collection of the British Museum and select objects that resonate with their own work.
"This exhibition is an experiment, framed in the ethos of igwijo’s call and response. I called and the artists responded; the artists called and the archive responded. I hope that you can find a thread in the continuum that is a mirror, that you are brave enough to look at yourself through it and to do the work it asks you to do."
Now open in our Mayfair space, Limbguistics draws on Payano’s transcontinental experiences and interest in different modes of communication. Understanding language as the medium of a culture, conveying intangible values and traditions, the exhibition extends this vernacular to visual art, creating a body of work that considers shared human experience. The series of multimedia artworks interweave painting, collage and relief sculpture in a trompe l’oeil effect: hands, feet and tree branches protrude from the confines of each picture plane.
To coincide with Payano's debut London solo exhibition, we are honoured to announce the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in China at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, as part of the museum’s newly published 2024 programme. The solo exhibition will feature alongside major institutional surveys of Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lawrence Weiner and Luc Tuymans, among others.
Minting is now live for our online exhibition in partnership with the Allen Ginsberg Estate, presenting AI generated poetry in conjunction with limited edition physical prints of the photographs which inspired them.
In the spirit of Ginsberg’s avant-garde writing, theVERSEverse, employed artificial intelligence to translate his historical photographs into novel poetic texts, informed by his own words, observations and imagination.
“I find the work of the Cornwall-based artist Jess Allen powerfully evocative. Her canvases are filled with shadows of people or objects, bringing to mind roaming thoughts of everything that our lives are filled with, as well as a recognition of the absences.”
For its inaugural edition, esea contemporary showcases a new painting by Hong Kong-based artist Stephen Wong. The Mountain Carrier in a Storm features Wong’s distinctive vivid palette and dreamlike landscapes.
"Facing a lot of challenges and difficulties in recent years in Hong Kong, I conceived an image of a Mountain Carrier sailing through a formidable storm, as a metaphor."
Real Fake Door, curated by Oli Epp and Mollie E Barnes
Until 16 Dec
The works in Real Fake Door challenge conventional norms of perception and understanding and transport the audience to uncharted territories. Paa Joe’s paragon, the miniature coffin, serves as a portal bridging the realms of life and death.
View more of the artist's work in our past group exhibition, In the Round.