The Moments Tender
To remember it so clearly, so painfully tonight tells me that I have never for an instant truly forgotten it I feel in myself now a faint, a dreadful stirring of what so overwhelmingly stirred in me then, great thirsty heat, and trembling, and tenderness so painful I thought my heart would burst But out of this astounding, intolerable pain came joy; we gave each other joy that night It seemed, then, that a lifetime would not be long enough for me to act with Joey the act of love
James Baldwin, Giovanni’s RoomThe implosion of a relationship, the warmth of amicable silence, a mother meeting her newborn child; it is in these moments that the insistence of human feeling becomes most apparent to us. When we stand in front of another and experience that rush of emotion buoyant joy, dizzying arousal, crackling rage we are at our most raw, our most exposed. In moments of encounter we speak truth to ourselves The inevitability of feeling is the constant of human life, and it is tenderness, that inscrutable ache of pleasure and pain, that alerts us to this fact
The Moments Tender brings together eighteen artists to share their individual explorations of tenderness Their work speaks on love, loss, happiness, and hope They explore the pleasure of discovery and the comfort of the familiar They seek to both commune with the past and step wide-eyed into the future. They come from many places, hold many identities, but they are all young and all have a statement to make.
Summer seems the ideal season for exploring emotion. Each year, as if bewitched, people come stumbling onto the streets, spewed from the dark bellies of homes and offices and rubbing the feeling back into their hands and feet Under hot sun they are drawn to one another, their emotional lives trailing behind them At no other time of the year are the tones of their encounters so mercurial and broad in span So, it is in this time that we gather you to consider moments of tenderness in your own lives, and perhaps to experience one here, with us
Erah x Akiya (she/her)
b. 1998 Lagos
“Erah, self-taught musician who composes on iPhone, Garageband and guitar. Specialises in dreamy, ambient and experimental sound often accompanied by romantic lyricism Composed for film, runways and artists across the UK and US Akiya, the art and fashion, with focus on knitwear, painted trousers and rugs all created by hand. The name coincidentally shares meaning with the Igbo name ‘Akaya’ which translates to ‘her hands’ , so it fits perfectly
Often asked if Akiya is a women’s wear brand prior to the clothes being seen, perhaps due to my gender, however, once seen, it is understood that Akiya caters to everyone, especially the ‘tomboy’ and ones who gender bend Recognised by Converse and invited to intimate meetings with the design team, exhibited clothes at Fenwick Colchester and has showcased pieces on runways consecutively for two years Erah x Akiya was birthed out of the deep-rooted desire to actualise childhood dreams and potential. Merging the two disciplines to peacefully co-exist and compliment each other, further strives to execute a feeling beyond my human comprehension ”
Aye, Aye Yo Jimmy, What Key We On?, 2023
Punch rug
75 x 55cm
“This handmade punch rug is on theme with my underground jazz club scene collection Have you noticed the dark background in jazz clubs, with neon-like designs around the room? That concept is what I attempted to emulate in this collection.
This rug is the 2nd part of a previous rug I made titled Guess Jimmy’s Coming in Late Tonight, showing a lone saxophonist, accepting that his pianist may not play at the show. (That rug sold for £400). The rug before you shows the pianist after arrival and it explores the intimacy between the saxophonist and the pianist through the lens of a viewer enjoying a glass of whatever The reds over the piano at the right show hands crossed, ready to play. The saxophonist, hands open, waiting to play, then asks ‘Aye, Aye Yo Jimmy, What Key We On?”
I composed a track for this rug, and my grandmother narrated the story of the rug in Igbo, our mother tongue; it concludes with a voicemail she left me. Thirty hours and twenty-five mins to create, from set up to rug backing ”
I Will Love You Forever, 2023
Punch rug
75 x 55cm
“Handmade rug on theme with my underground jazz club scene collection. Made with the intention to gift yourself, a mate or your babes a flower that never dies A multi-coloured rug of overlapping leaves with yellow spirals on red stem to symbolise infinite love The tanned colour around the flower mimics a mirror,
symbolising one looking into a mirror and seeing a flower that represents eternal love, meaning you are that eternal love that you potentially seek I directed a shoot with couples around London and in their homes with photographer Juliette Amber 22hrs 20mins to create, from set up to rug backing ”
Lewisham, 2023
Punch rug
75 x 55 cm
“At the end of 2022, I went to Lewisham to collect a rug frame from Burger King in the evening; as I was walking to take the DLR, I saw a massive mural that made me feel like I was in Spain Have I ever been Spain though? No, but I felt something, idk what.
This rug has a window, my plant pot, a glass of whatever and a guitar Therefore, it sticks to my underground jazz club scene theme 29 hours to create from set up to rug backing ”
Splatt, 2023
Punch rug
75 x 55 cm
“It’s just a mop
17 hours to create from set up to finish.”
Raphaël Castillo (he/him)
b. 1997 Paris
Raphaël Castillo, aka Raphael Fondation, is a multimedia storyteller whose practice heavily focuses on contemporary spiritual life and the search for transcendence. His work is thematically informed by an insatiable curiosity for the history of mystic movements, past and present, as well as a musical understanding of life He has an ongoing obsession for the relationship between the concepts of sacredness and profanity
The use of printed matter has become prevalent in his practice as he explores the three-dimensional and interactive possibilities of the medium.
Underwater Love, 2023-ongoing
Mixed media
Varying sizes
Underwater Love is the first iteration of On My Side of the River, the final outcome of which will be a book of the same name It is a mixed-media installation featuring text, photography and digital collage The pictures do not illustrate the text, and the words do not explain the collage, however, they work in juxtaposition to one another with the aim to relate the layered nature of love from a spiritual lens. The handwritten text highlights the notion of intimacy and the transcendental potential of interactions held within it
Manyi Chan (she/her)
b 2001 Hong Kong
Manyi Chan is a London-based artist who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Shanghai, recently graduated with a BA in Photography at the London College of Communication (UAL) Her work looks at the uncanny beauty within everyday moments with a slice of humour and a keen awareness of self-identity, expressed through photography, film,installation, and text.
Selections from Rhymes, 2018-ongoing
Photographic prints
Varying sizes
“Having my camera pointing to the world feels like writing a fictional novel to me. It’s not about documenting, but also not fabricated indeed Light makes familiar things unfamiliar, and unfamiliar things become familiar These moments made of light are pieced together into rhythms that comprised my existence Through deconstructing and reconstructing the ‘taken-for-granted fact’, I wish to bridge the gap between myself and the world, to establish a new position in these times of uncertainty and social upheaval ”
Jenna Coombs (she/her)
b 1999 London
“Human, set maker.”
The Gossip Bench: me2me, 2023
Wooden gossip bench, audio, photographic prints
“This piece is made up of set, conversational sound snippets and imagery as the girl replays over and over again her experience of love, longing, friendship and self Based around the piece of furniture 'A Gossip Bench' where she sits and hopes for a phone call, resits making the phone call, and plans what she would say on the phone call Photos taken by Lydia Wilks ”
Simran Dhanu (she/her)
b 1998 Mumbai
“I'm Simran Dhanu, an image maker born in Mumbai, now living in London. My art revolves around exploring South Asian culture through themes like nostalgia, representation, and identity, drawing inspiration from my memories of growing up in India Nostalgia is a big part of my work, bringing back emotions and memories from the past. I want to connect with the audience's cultural roots and help them appreciate the rich heritage of South Asia Representation is important to me, and I aim to challenge stereotypes and show a fresh
perspective on South Asian culture. My art celebrates the diversity and complexity of this vibrant culture, empowering people to embrace their identities without hesitation Identity, both personal and shared, plays a significant role in my art I explore how our cultural backgrounds shape who we are By sharing my own experiences, I hope to connect with others and foster a sense of togetherness among those who have similar stories Through exhibitions and online presence, I want to create a captivating experience that starts meaningful conversations and encourages introspection As an image maker, my goal is to bridge cultures and hearts, helping people appreciate and understand the beauty and importance of South Asian heritage ”
Home, 2023
Photograms
All 127 x 102 cm
“Home comprises three intricately crafted photograms, born from my heartfelt endeavour to infuse life into light and capture the scenic landscapes of my home, now eternally cherished in London. Growing up along the coastal shores of Mumbai, my profound connection with the sea inspired the ethereal creation of The Moonlit Sea Preserving the tranquil allure of Mumbai sunsets, where I spent countless evenings on the rooftop, I immortalized them in The Bombay Sunset. In the third photogram, titled Magenta Memories, I pay homage to a colour deeply rooted in my cultural experience In India, magenta graces numerous Indian women, adorning saris and vibrant pink flowers in their hair, symbolizing femininity, beauty, and tradition This hue evokes nostalgic memories of joyous celebrations and vibrant festivities.”
Ursula Holliday (she/they)
b. 1997 London
Ursula Holliday is a London based performance artist, sculptor, musician, tarot reader and video artist Their work intertwines spirituality and the supernatural It takes influence from Alejandro Jorodowsky’s Psychomagic and Ana Mendieta’s work, using clay to embody astral bodies and emulate out of place found objects Ursula’s ceramic pieces are spiritual amulets
Art as well as physical movement (having recently trained in the Siobhan Davies choreography programme) is a therapeutic act for Ursula. They have also been seen performing as an actor in productions that have premiered at TIFF as well as aired on Amazon Prime, Channel 4 and Netflix Ursula’s art practice is strongly based in fantasy, using it as a form of escapism whilst highlighting our dark, dysfunctional reality With a personal interest in the spiritual world, they have collected extensive folklore and fable knowledge which has encouraged a limitless approach when dealing with deep or hard hitting subjects Music is a second language for Ursula, performing and touring globally, songwriting, creative directing and co-directing the music videos with sibling Delilah Holliday. Drumming for 10 years with the politically charged feminist punk band Skinny Girl Diet Ursula doesn’t shy away from topics that could ruffle feathers Currently in an experimental project called Venus Velouria, they combine electronic music with haunting melodies and soundscapes; the world Ursula is creating isn’t stuck in one form
Yemoja’s Cove, 2023
Ceramic sculpture
30 x 30 cm
“This ceramic piece is a small sheltered bay that can be used as protection. Inspired by the 2007 movie Teeth as well as an ode to the deity Yemoja the mermaid Orisha (goddess) of Motherhood and the sea I wanted to make a piece that looked like it could bite down as well as emulating a uterus According to myth, when her waters broke, it caused a great flood creating rivers and streams and the first mortal humans were created from her womb ”
Soul Departure, 2022
Expanding foam, air-dry clay
30 x 30 cm
“This is a ceramic piece made out of expanding foam and air dry clay. Exploring the question of what has a soul and where we go after death, body autonomy and gender expression. Like a fever dream dipped in a cloud, Ursula sculpted the faces that appeared to them, ones that fit their Ancestors as well as the story of Medusa (who was a rape victim within this Greek tragedy ) Ursula used this narrative to make a Black Medusa, vagina with wings and a rabid playboy bunny in Marilyn Monroe’s honour who had her nudes leaked as the first image to get Playboy off the ground by the vile Hugh Hefner who profited off her without giving her a single dime after ignoring her phone calls, he is now buried next to her as his final dying wish, god rest her soul and may he burn in hell.”
Out of Touch, 2023
Watercolour pen & highlighter on paper
42 x 30 cm
“This is an illustration made using watercolour pens and highlighters A map of being in a cult like situation and only having your lover be able to call you on the telephone. A storyboard of imagery drawn in reaction to only having someone’s voice at the end of the line I created a drawn fable, taking influence from Celtic imagery, Native American symbolism, Greek myths of worm lizards, mermaid folklore, the occult and Ravana from the Hindu tale of Rama & Sita ”
Tomislav Latinovic (he/they)b 2000 London
“My practice explores the connection between queerness and Balkan heritage Specifically thinking about techniques for developing conversation and language around queerness that doesn't rely on Western queer histories. Within diaspora communities, queer often feels like it can only come from the West, creating an internal rift between my heritage and my queer communities. For example, the Terms queer, gay, lesbian, etc are often phonetically translated and used by other languages In Serbian they translate to kwir, gai etc Progressive queerness feels like a Western concept I want to find ways of exploring my queerness through Balkan materials, techniques, scripts and understandings.
I’ve been thinking about ways of developing languages which can express and explore queerness, looking back towards tradition and craft to find fractures of Balkan identities which can be “queered”, reimagined or harnessed to develop both connection to heritage and a way to speak on the supposed clash of identities. Perhaps to be Balkan and to be queer can be found in sustaining a lineage of culture and craft which is on the verge of being forgotten Or, connecting to the materials which are imbued with physical histories of use like the yarn that has been woven, unravelled and woven again by Baka (Grandma) and myself ”
Weave for Baka, 2022
Twine, wool, cotton yarn, wood and grape vine branches
59 x 42 cm (excluding loom)
“Each portion of this weave uses specific materials and practices which help me connect to my culture This piece uses traditional Serbian weaving techniques developed during the Ottoman empire to make Kilim carpets, a practice which continues today, that Baka taught me The fibres used were given to me by Baka and Deka, all of which they bought in the 80s and 90s in Novi Sad The purple was once dyed darker by my Baka in the 1990s, the other yarns she sourced from markets and her community in the 80s and 90s. Since then she has lost feeling in her hands and can no longer continue weaving, I wanted to use them and continue her craft; I’ve never felt closer to her
The shapes follow branches from Deka’s grape vines, he grows them to make rakija - a super strong homemade spirit, a medicine? The branches were placed into the loom first, and then intuitively woven around The loom was made with old wood Deka used to roof his house; we made it together The piece was not designed, instead, feeling my way around the construction of the weave, a process which I think allows for an innate queering of the weaving techniques Traditionally they are mathematical, and pattern oriented, made for purpose and strength By placing the weave on a wall, a craft developed for carpets is elevated to art. Carpet weaving was done for necessity, both for one’s own home, and for sale. I wanted to reimagine it as a queer practice of intuition and connection to my own heritage and culture, a technique through which we can connect to people that don’t share our language, and don’t always understand our queerness.”
Lottie Mac (she/her)b.
1998 London
Lottie Mac is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice considers the fluidity of language and fonts Mac plays with silence and that which is said and also unsaid Fluidity in visual form is echoed in the changeability of meaning and intention in language reflected in her practice Exploring ways of communication and providing moments of reflection are crucial to Mac Lottie’s practice is responsive, responding to feeling, music, and environment, and this is too seen in the materials used Physical movement in making is critical to Lottie’s practice, as seen through her large-scale tufting, expressive paintings, and sculptures. While being an immensely personal practice, Lottie's work is also responsive to socio-political connections to language
The exploration of the Irish language and its relationship to English, through the loss of mother tongue, is reminiscent of the loss of articulation and visual form in the words seen in Lottie’s practice
Lucid Touch, 2023
Oil on canvas
140 x 150 cm
“My practice as of late has been a battle around the articulation of emotion and situation through two-word poetry, expanding, navigating, and attaching dual meaning to words through emotionally mapping my thoughts and associations. Through this, I'm hiding meaning and intention through personalised synonym expansion, finding new and developed meanings in the given word/s.
Lucid Touch explores the intimacy of lying up with someone in the heat of summer, body sweat joining together n you being comfy with that. Bodies moulding into each other's crevices, hot but still holding one another The word ‘Lucid’ also connects to clarity and understanding, the beauty in understanding placement within you and another's situation, and transparency in the navigation of experience together The painting being spread across two pieces to become one echoes the intimacy in touch while shining light on individualism ”
Elisa Mazzuca (she/her)
b 1999 Sicily
Originally from the Sicilian east coast, Elisa Mazzuca is a multidisciplinary visual artist working at the intersection of documentary photography and design. She formed her own critical and artistic awareness by merging love for images with her strong Sicilian identity She moved to Florence in 2017 where she studied Graphic Design and Photography, and in 2020 in London, where she is currently based
Interested and dedicated to art from a very young age, Elisa has never stopped exploring new possibilities between different disciplines Her main areas of interest and exploration are kaleidoscopic Mediterranean culture, photography that celebrates the beauty of everyday life, human-centered design and our relationship with technology.
The driving force behind Elisa’s work has always been the fascination with the human experience Our emotional and psychological relationship to places, moments and each other is fundamental within the artist’s body of work Elisa’s creative practice focuses on digging deeper to find untold stories, pieces of daily life that are too often bypassed by the least attentive eye Whether it is a photographic series, a piece of design, or moving images, Elisa’s art is often linked to symbols and metaphors, and it strongly relies on the evocative nature of colours
Interdisciplinarity is at the core of Elisa’s art, as she believes artists should never be refrained from experimenting across different mediums. Instead, the use of diverse techniques allows Elisa to explore multiple perspectives, achieving a wide range of visual results
Selections from Story of a Ghost Island, 2014-2023
Photographic prints
All 30 x 21 cm or 21 x 15 cm
“No other island in the Mediterranean Sea is as vast and fertile as Sicily. Its strategic position and the advantageous weather led several populations to invade, conquer and exploit the island The meeting of different cultures led to the complex, multifaceted reality of the Sicilian identity Yet the collective Sicilian memory finds it difficult to survive and persist in modern times, especially due to the increasingly high number of Sicilian immigrants leaving the island and heading towards North Italy or abroad
Story of a Ghost Island is a collection of photographs taken between 2014 and 2023 throughout Sicily. The images document daily life in small Sicilian towns and remote sea villages. Elderly people are the most encountered subjects, silent keepers of what is left of Sicilian culture
Despite the changes on our island, despite the climate getting hotter every year and the cities getting emptier, these people remind us of the importance of staying connected to our land and identity They do so with gestures and routines, by being physically in touch with nature, food, oral traditions, and with each other.
This body of work is a visual commentary on a sense of pacific abandon and mystery that characterises Sicily. It is a project exploring deeply personal themes such as age, desolation, innocence and relationship with nature. It is the celebration of the untold and underrated uniqueness of being Sicilian.”
Katrina Nzegwu (she/her)
b. 1999 London
180 x 150 cm (excluding selvedge)
Katrina Nzegwu is a maker, curator, writer and facilitator, with BA in Fine Art & History of Art, from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MA in Print from the Royal College of Art Currently working as Artist Researcher for Hannah Barry Gallery and its sister not-for-profit space Bold Tendencies, Katrina also hosts a monthly interview radio show on RTM FM, entitled MP3 4 Bois, and has written for platforms including 3rd World zine, Carrion Press, and Studio West Gallery In January she published her first “poetry” collection, Mixtape, with Em-Dash Press
Making work that skates the line between the political and the absurd, Katrina galvanises dark humour, and often uses referential or archival material such as literature, music and contemporary meme formats to explore personal, and collective memory and experience Her practice is research-based and often starts with auto-fictive/auto-theoretical writings, which predominantly visually manifest as prints/textile installations, as well as sound works
I Am My Ancestor’s Wildest Dreams, 2023
Spun silk and cotton
180 x 150 cm
“I Am My Ancestor’s Wildest Dreams is about a process of uncovering, tied to my grandmother, Grace, as a pathway After losing her in February 2022, I returned to Nigeria for the first time in 13 years, and the second time in my life It is a strange thing to "go home" to a place that is absolutely not yours; to feel so strongly connected to a person whose energy is apropos of an ultimately foreign land. Learning more about my Yoruba grandmother, I learnt more about myself; about the particular beauty of recognising one's ontological essence, whilst belongin to multiple heritages In the act it became clear that no story is unconnected - no person's journey is uninflected by the paths trodden by others, past and present. The cyclical nature of history; the timeless elemental repetition of feminine experience - it is all at once about no-one, and everyone
I Am My Ancestor’s Wildest Dreams is about this inextricability of human stories. Weaving is more than the sum of warp and weft - it is a method of recounting, reliving and reframing Colour, structure and fibre function as a vocabulary in their own right, creating rhythms that nod to deeper meanings The accompanying sound work incorporates field recordings, music and binaural spoken word. Exploring notions of intersectional feminism, the work occupies various voices, including the Greek goddess Circe, the Yoruba Orisha Yemaya, Eve of the Judeo-Christian tradition, alongside my own, and the imagined projections of others. Literally weaving together words and affective associations - the interlocking of yarns, both material and narrative - the work is an appeal to the universal vagaries of femininity. My own experience, through connection with a recognisable visual language and symbolic traditions, becomes an allegory for the perennially human ”
Eliza Owen (she/her)
b 1997 London
Eliza Owen is a multi-disciplinary artist who shifts between the two and three dimensional, working in relation to the traditions of landscape, abstraction and architecture She uses paint, wood, textiles, glass, film, and print to choreograph evocations of shared memory; attempting to explain how our latent memories of the earth seep into man-made constructions. Her work is concerned with a sense of place; how our experience of horizon lines and vertical planes are encoded into the objects we make and the worlds we build Eliza’s installations recreate the world around us in abstract forms, as carefully balanced yet precarious structures, revealing a relationship between complex systems in the world and essential forces such as gravity. Traces of these installations are remembered in small paintings and in folded map-like etchings Eliza’a prints are made by transcribing the traces of her installations onto litho plates, which are then folded and compressed by an etching press. The disparate elements of her practice are tied together by a material sensibility. In her handling paint, glass, print and fabric she attempts to convey fragility and a playful provisionality Fragile precarious, unfinished things each bear their own potential, and according to their conditions of looseness, of contingency, can in flux converse
These works are a configuration of print, painted fragments and sculptural elements. Within her practice Eliza uses a traditional etching press and recycled metals to create compressed readings of her three dimensional installations - they act as a permanent remnant of her installation work which is fragile, precarious and temporary. In this exhibition she is bringing her prints and three dimensional painted elements together, creating a system of relationality between works made at different moments in time Each work hopefully bears a mark or memory of another
Dust Catapults, 2022
Etchings on paper
67 x 145 cm
Eliza’s set of three prints entitled Dust Catapults remembers a series of hand made cardboard models, or ‘catapults’, which contained a single pane of antique cathedral glass The glass was then loaded with charcoal dust and the model was flipped. The painted model shifted from the vertical to horizontal plane leaving a scattering of black powder across a painted surface Both the prints and models think about how three dimensional space contains folds and pockets, light and dust, and how the more ephemeral is able to move freely across permanent markers of space.
A map of my studio floor is folded into a kite and taken to Port Meadow, 2022
Paper kite, aluminium, card
61 x 84 cm
The work adjacent A map of my studio floor is folded into a kite and taken to Port Meadow contains a hand made paper kite (a folded map of Eliza’s old studio floor) and its aluminium replica During a Covid lockdown Eliza turned pre - existing 1:1 maps of her studio floor (which was no longer accessible) into kites, she then took these kites to Port Meadow and allowed them to float and blow in the wind; space was compressed, restricted and folded and then set free What remains of the installation sits within this grey-card box
Light Flecks Through The Trees, 2022
Etching on paper, plywood, glass
Etching 48 x 86 cm, plywood and glass uprights 210 cm
The final print Light Flecks Through The Trees is made using a single piece of copper, found in a hospital skip in Oxford Eliza ran the same strip through the press twelve times creating an image akin to an abstracted forest landscape The print bares a direct relationship to Eliza’s plywood uprights containing glass panesthese act like sculptural paintings, as though painting with the colours of the glass and the texture and lines of the wood, and are abstracted depictions of light slanting through the vertical lines in landscape
Devika Pararasasinghe (she/her) b 1998 London“My practice attempts to deal with[in] the working-class [invisible]-labour ecosystem[s] and [invisible]-reproductive labours, giving into the visuals between low-fi and high-art aesthetic scenarios It is a miscalculated-interior-design
We talk in spaces, for all languages/conversations/discourses are in spaces, all in the commonality of the community which we have laboured and labelled places[home] for. I am interested in a counter to the instructional bias of how we handle to play in the trades of the classed colloquial, in the cont[r]acts of labour, waged/unwaged, acknowledged/disavowed, and where it fits in the cycles of consumption, exploitation and [re]production I want a tactile hand, - to yield a cocoon and bloom like a confidence man
// I’ll be waiting//
Shaping objects
An embrace we never had Our bodies are weapons
We can find the polyvocality in a breathing sample
Be beguiled by figure-ground resolution
Waiting to get a road out -
I live and work in London, by trade as an artist, writer, and snake oil salesperson I graduated in 2022 with an MFA from Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford ”
the healing power of sunshine//, 2023
Second-hand/found fabric, handmade natural dye
there is nothing new under the sun – eternal return, 2023 an elaborate grift, 2023 softly rendered work, 2023
Early keeping up energy, that net positive glow// a testament to narrative control I must be favoured by you, having given the microphone to someone else What is gained permission is through example. It seems like an insurmountable gap for what feels like it came standard with the car -
I have deep bruises looking for a single strand to climb in these underground rivers, this is an old idea to reap any benefit A dead ghost devi
A holy sign on my fucking forehead put doubt in the air/
It’s a crazy talent to know how to try
“the healing power of sunshine centres on an intermission, it is a textile work made with handmade natural dyes using onion skeins, red cabbage, dried mistletoe, turmeric, and black tea dyed onto second-hand and found fabrics The work attempts to gain an exchange with the audience, to start a conversation, and for artifices to slip away – The reactor is to always be in a close proxy to establish an equilibrium between harmony and dissonance, for that is the healing power of sunshine//.
The smaller pieces are part of an ongoing series, and attach themselves to the notion of home can be as temporary as a night at a friend’s house. Home is a style, made-up of mnemic objects in a poetic embrace. These homogeneous environments, the changed understanding of homeyness, and how we decorate these homes, as going back to another staging, a fiction-ing One’s home becomes part of the fiction of how one sees themselves, and how one would like to be seen by others ”
//When the dust finally settles
What foolish solace when time meant much longer
A finished epiphany later, muscles ache covered in vines, we sit pretty, we two mutuals in two straight lines, two waving an attachment that seeks to bundle
this is the start of the good ol’ days
Flora Scott (she/her)
b 1998 London
Flora Scott is a photographer and director raised and based in Hackney, London After picking up her dad’s old Olympus Mju-II at the age of 16, Flora began capturing the lives and faces of the people around her, exploring how family can be formed outside the traditional sense of home. As a film graduate, the world of cinema has had a deep impact on the work Flora creates
Flora's work has been exhibited at The Photographers' Gallery London, published in Guap Mag, 6 FT Zine and online at I-D, Dazed, Vogue and Apple. Since her entry into the industry at the young age of 19, Flora has also gained commissions from the likes of Nike, Sony Music, Converse and Refinery 29UK along with a growing list of creative collaborations within her network Flora has the long term aims of directing feature films and is currently focusing on writing and directing short films whilst freelancing.
Selections from Tender Wounds, 2015-ongoing
C-type photographic prints
Varying sizes
Tender Wounds, Flora's ongoing 8 year spanning project explores the metamorphosis of coming of age, love, loss, community and the relationships which form it As someone who lost their mother at a very young age, creating this sense of chosen family was essential - under the surface of her images is a sincere appreciation for the delicate and fleeting nature of our existence
Beth Simcock (she/her)
b. 1999 Brighton
Beth Simcock is a painter and writer working in acrylic Her practice is devoted to mythologies, both self-created and borrowed: from classics, art history, contemporary popular culture, and the online world. Blushing, girl-ish figures languidly inhabit her landscapes-between-states. Fragments translated from ancient frescoes are painted over with beer cans and sweet wrappers, and decorated with glittery stickers to create tapestries of parable and memory in carnival fluorescence
Gathering Freesias, 2021
Acrylic, spray paint, varnish on canvas
80 x 60 cm
“While painting Gathering Freesias, I considered the nostalgia of summer and the precious, fleeting moments between friends/lovers/both/either that could happen there. The reference for the pose was drawn from an 80s photobook of Tahiti ”
Mae Slade (she/her)
b 1998 London
Mae is a recent graduate of Goldsmiths College’s BA Fine Art course. Her most recent work has used film, photography, and creative writing to explore ideas of loss and grief She is drawn to tactile processes, recently working with hand made paper, cardboard camera obscuras, and Super 8 film Her work is interested in storytelling and the imagination, thinking up ways to expand ‘archive’ to include places and storytellers. For example, her most recent film imagined the earth and its plants as having eaten up stories from her father’s life
To Hold You, 2023
Photographic prints, audio
All 30 x 42 cm
“The work on display includes photographs of body parts made from my own handmade paper, taken in the summer evening light of the filterbeds by the Hackney marshes near home The body parts are suggestions of a plant/human hybrid, representing lost loved ones who have become part of the earth I made the paper from plants collected whilst out on walks with my aunt – it is part of a wider story where I imagine the earth having eaten up tales of my dad’s life Reeds, rush, and other plants whisper these stories to me on my walks out on the marshes So by collecting them to make paper from, I’m able to build his body out of the stories they contain: so that I can in a sense hold my dad in my hands again The accompanying audio piece is made up of my own writing in spoken word form, field recordings from the marshes, and voices of family and friends who in my mind play the role of those whispering plants ”
Connie Swift (she/her)b 1998
London“I’m a self-taught photographer from Hackney, London. The more I photograph the clearer it is to me that I’m trying to picture reality, to show things as they really are My images are personal to me, with a focus on youth and realism They are ‘slice of life’ style and the best are always taken when I'm in the moment and really living, not thinking. The same goes for whoever I'm photographing at the time, it’s really important to me that there’s trust and my subject is comfortable I like to capture freeness in people, the best images for me come from the moments where people let go
My documentary and portraiture focused work is an archive of memories of my life and the people I encounter, the places I go and the atmospheres surrounding me It’s a helpful tool too, when your memory is as shit as mine, there’s nights, faces and conversations I genuinely wouldn’t remember if I didn’t have my photos as recordings of it and that’s something I'll always cherish and a reason I'll never stop shooting.
My main body of personal work aims to photograph women in a true, authentic way that battles the world of ‘perfection’ pushed by social media and influencers. It carries the same theme of truth and reality, being ok and proud of who we really are in a world where people love to tell girls how to act No thanks ”
A double fluorescent love letter to summer, 2022
A triple fluorescent love letter to summer, 2022
C-type prints on matte paper
Both 84 x 119 cm
“These images were taken at last year's Notting Hill Carnival, it was the first one since lockdown, you could feel the energy, the impatience to let loose, we’d all been waiting years for something we love so much to return. As soon as I got the film back I was back there in the crowd.. they’ve got an electric, almost fluorescent and metallic feel like an outfit you’d wear out clubbing There’s noise and blur and chaos but they really feel like how I was feeling in the moment A bit all over the place but having a good time whoever I was with or wherever I ended up
I hope you can feel it, smell the smoke of the chicken in the drums, the hot concrete, taste the sweet juice and rum on your tongue, hear the beats clashing in the distance, feel the vibrations of the sound systems Any Londoner knows it’s the best weekend of the year A time when we’re all really proud that this is our home… this huge havoc of a city is ours.
Sadly, the future of carnival is constantly under threat; it is underfunded and its cultural and historical significance underappreciated Hackney Carnival was cancelled with just 48 hours notice last year due to Queenie passing, an extremely questionable move with the colonial history of the monarchy. It’s a reminder of the priorities the people in power have in this country, sadly the people are bottom of the list ”
Izzy Symes (she/her)
b 1998 London
Izzy is a West-London based multimedia artist & writer, specialising in and drawing influence from mid 20th Century American conceptual artists Having studied Art History at Leeds, she moved to Florence to pursue her interest in furniture design; which began to manifest into an exploration with oil paint that aimed to record relationships between 'vacant' and 'occupied' space. She is particularly interested in what makes a work complete, or 'incomplete', and how the measurability of this process can be subjective As a queer artist, a large bulk of her work centres around curiosity, process, investigation and reflection; as well as the exploration of visual intensity and generalised bizarreness of queer relationships, that push the boundaries of colour and meaning.
She often finds that any ideas can get lost with an imagined visualisation of how they 'should' manifest themselves physically; instead of nurturing and growing concepts that require dissection and unpretentious focus Painting is a direct way that she can overcome 'self-censorship': which can be to formulate visual ideas for the sole purpose of external validation or aesthetic appraisal The (successful) work she produces is as a result of actively questioning the static thoughts and ideas she has, before they are realised verbally. The painting is then the immediate physical representation of a concept, allowing it to be honest, human and consequently bursting with flaws and a sense of deficiency, unlike polished and 'complete ideas' This idea of 'deficiency' or 'lacking' in substance is at the core of where this self-censorship perhaps stems from, and with that acknowledgement, her work exists not by rejecting context around it, but instead by maximising and positively exploiting it
Dynamic Duo, 2022
Acrylic & pastel on canvas
122 x 76 cm
“An initially striking composition, a sense of friendliness and humour can be deciphered from the spiky and awkward figures In a pool of darkness, the two figures shine bright in unison, reflecting off each other and emit a lunar-like glow that, despite their slight physiological differences, unifies them. A faint dashed connection can be seen between the figures; this piece is constructed of marks of different weight and velocity, some more aggressive than others, all relating to particular moments in a relationship Depending
on the viewers' experience, the piece may represent silly gorgeous moments in a close friendship, without judgement or restraint; or become a visual portrayal of intense frustration and elation that a romantic partnership presents, perhaps particularly a first love; moments tender ”
Balmy August, 2023
Oil & acrylic on canvas
60 x 60 cm
“This piece is a snapshot of a moment of bliss; it is loosely based on an evening I had cooking linguine in an apartment in the heat of summer, nude The nonchalance of having the doors and windows open to the August heat added to the feeling of love, open-ness and trust that filled the apartment that evening, a space where clothing felt unnecessary. A wholesome representation of acceptance and queerness fills the canvas, ineffably A particular soundtrack plays in my head when I look at this piece, but I think most people can relate to the warm excitement of a summer evening, and the knowledge that two equally balmy days will flank the moment you're in; as If you're 'deep in' or protected by at least a few days more of long lasting heat, and that sense of contentment ”
Kairo Urovi (he/they)
b 2000 Italy
Kairo Urovi is an Italo-Albanian photographer based in London. He uses photography as a visual language that gives room for people’s stories to be narrated Often focusing on themes of queer identity and belonging, Kairo’s approach is vulnerable and instinct-led Currently, Kairo is undertaking a project that delves into the tension between his cultural roots as an Albanian and his queer identity as a trans individual.
Untitled, ongoing Giclée prints
Varying sizes
“At times, I get scared by the magnitude of life How it contracts and expands, how I feel it constantly slipping out of my hands as I try to imprint every memory worth remembering. A warm embrace, a gentle caress, unspoken silences and painful goodbyes Summer lovin’, the nostalgia of time passing and the world going by ”
