From the ashes of an old-world, changed by collective trauma comes an opportunity for new voices and perspectives to be heard. With growing global tensions, humanitarian crises and continued social stasis, we find ourselves lost in a post-apocalyptic space of reflection and uncertainty, bringing forth conversations surrounding displacement, identity and womanhood. This exhibition gives voice to a group of UK based women artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, to explore these themes and how they exist in this place we call home.
Curated by Chantelle Purcell and Renin Bilginer, what initially started as a conversation about their experiences of growing up with mixed heritage backgrounds in London, gave rise to a need to delve more into issues surrounding identity, belonging, assimilation and womanhood, questioning; what does it mean to exist as a multicultural woman in Britain and how do we preserve a relationship with our diasporic origins? This exhibition is part of an ongoing series delivered through a rhizomatic programme of pop-up shows and accompanying workshops, which seeks to provide visibility for women artists from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Exhibiting artists include; Alya Hatta, Chantelle Purcell, Eve De Haan, Imogen Patel, Kathy Bailey, Maddalena Zadra, Natalia González Acosta, Renin Bilginer, Tayo Adekunle.
OTHERLandz – 30th April, Wednesday – Saturday 12-6pm at 10 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4AE otherlandz.com
Upcoming events
Workshops:
Philosophy & Art Evening 28th April 6-8.30pm BUY Tickets £5
Join the debate with Ayisha De Lanerolle as she facilities a philosophical enquiry with some of the artists. As humans, we are not only different, each one of us is unique in our experience, our memories and associations and the stories we share. Dialogue can help us to connect, appreciate these differences, and even to enjoy challenges to our own thinking.
Shibori Dyeing with Renin Bilginer. 29th April 6-9pm BUY tickets £8
Focusing on a small selection of traditional Japanese Shibori dyeing techniques, this workshop will teach participants how to create a range of unique dyed patterns on fabric. Over the course of 2 – 3 hours, Renin will talk a bit about the process and the techniques the attendees will be learning, followed by step by step guidance. Focusing on Arashi, Itajime Triangle and Ne-maki techniques.
The Conversation Agency is a small agency specialising in philosophical inquiry for arts, education and cultural sector organisations. Founded and led by Ayisha De Lanerolle in 2008, the Conversation Agency has worked with over 25 clients in the UK and Spain.
About the Artists
Alya Hatta (b.1999, Malaysia) is an interdisciplinary artist based between London and Kuala Lumpur. She graduated from her BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London before finding herself in the MA Painting Course at Royal College of Art. She has exhibited internationally in London, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Tübingen amongst others and is exhibiting her third solo show in Milan in February of 2022. Hatta is a member of ‘FloorFive’ collective, who are currently part of a year long residency at Goldsmiths CCA.
Eve De Haan the artist behind Half a Roast Chicken was recently named by Dezeen as one of “Fourteen black architects and designers you should know”. Her degree in Theology promoted her love of the written word, and propelled her into investigating how emotive it can be to use neon whilst exploring semantics. Eve uses a powerful mix of electric colour and charged words bringing a modern take on personal storytelling. Eve has been working on public art installations and focussing on what wellness means to us as individuals. She has shown work in the Saatchi gallery & The museum of Neon LA, lead talks for ‘Tate lates’ with the Tate modern, and worked on campaigns with Nike, Monica Vinader and Browns. She has been featured on the BBC and has created billboard campaigns across London for female charities focusing on womens safety.
Imogen Patel’s practice explores her representation within both the White British and Indian communities. She uses collage as a tool to fuse heritages whilst altering the placement of both urban and rural landscape. She also addresses the concept of ‘otherness’ and its relationship with diaspora and race in a post-colonial Britain.
Kathy Bailey (b. 1992, London) is a London based artist who works across painting, found object and textile based installations. A recent Graduate from the university of Brighton she has shown as a local artist in Deptford and as an artist in residency in First Floor Space in Croydon. She is currently study for an MA at Royal College of Art.
Maddalena Zadra (b. 1996, Italy) is a London based Italian artist who works across painting, drawing, printmaking, textile based installations. The artist’s work touches upon aspects of the tactile and the sensual whilst remaining playful through subtly contrasting vulnerability and eroticism. Referencing a variety of cultures and historical aesthetics, she explores symbolic meaning and storytelling in her practice, creating multi-layered, open scenarios.
Natalia González Acosta (b. 1997) is a Mexican photographer based in London. Her practice has a social-documentary approach, often with collaborative processes, and explores people’s relationships to their environments. Drawing from her own experience as a foreigner in the UK, her work focuses on topics of belonging, migration, identity and the concept of home. González received her MA in Photography and Urban Cultures from Goldsmiths in 2021. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with Noorderlicht International Photo Festival, Photo North, Shutter Hub and most recently, An Indian Summer. She has also been featured on Undisclosed Resource, It’s Nice That, Redeye, and more.
Renin Bilginer is an emerging contemporary artist from London, with dual British and Turkish heritage. Renin graduated from The University of Brighton in 2019 and is currently studying MA Painting at the Royal College of Art. In 2019, she exhibited at Hove Museum and Art Gallery, The Truman Brewery and was selected for Hastings Art Forum’s ‘Rising Talent’ show. In 2020 she was selected for the Zabludowicz Collection exhibition ‘Women’s Lockdown Art’. Recent exhibitions include RCA WIP 2022 and RAW at Soho Revue.
Tayo Adekunle is a Nigerian-British photographer originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, now based in London. Working predominantly with self-portraiture and digital collage, she uses her work to explore themes surrounding race, gender and sexuality as well as racial and colonial history. Since recently graduating with a BA (Hons) in Photography from Edinburgh College of Art, Adekunle has been a recipient of the SSA New Graduate Awards and the Degree Show Purchase Prize, resulting in her work becoming part of The University of Edinburgh Art Collection. She has also exhibited in exhibitions including Futureproof with Street Level Photoworks, Coupe de Foudre with Insurgency Gallery and Five Years, RSA New Contemporaries and the SSA 123rd Annual Exhibition. Most recently she was nominated as one of the British Journal of Photography One’s to Watch and as a FUTURES talent.
Chantelle May Purcell (b. 1985) is a London-based curator and artist. Her work explores the intertwined histories of Britain and the Caribbean, inspired by personal experiences, folklore and the ways in which culture is preserved through storytelling. Whether working as a curator or artist she seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the world through connection and empowering communities. Her work involves objects and sound to create sensory and multi-layered installations. Purcell graduated from Kingston University with a MA in European Practice.
