Statement:

The archipelago is diffracted, fractal, necessary in its totality, fragile or contingent in its unity, passing through and remaining, it is a state of the world. — Édouard Glissant ///

Archipelago: Visions in Orbit is an original exhibition curated by students from the MA Curating Art and Public Programmes course – a unique one-year professional placement qualification, organised in collaboration with London South Bank University (LSBU).

Bringing together a diverse range of artists, perspectives and mediums, the exhibition takes the physiology of an archipelago – a cluster of distinct but connected islands – as a metaphor to frame and relate seemingly disparate artistic positions.

With society becoming increasingly fragmented, exacerbated by heightened global geo-political tensions, the exhibition proposes an ‘archipelagic’ approach, aimed at illuminating a shared cultural fabric, while at the same time allowing for complex differences.

Through the enigmatic and ethereal works of Esther Teichmann (b. 1980, Germany) and Jakob Rowlinson (b. 1990, UK); portrayals of emergence and reflection in the paintings of Jade de Montserrat’s (b. 1981, UK) and sculptural reliefs of Cameron Ugbodu’s (b. 2000, Austria), alongside considerations of diasporic histories in the performance documentations of Daniella Valz Gen (b. Unlisted, Peru) and Güler Ateş   (b. 1977, Turkey), the exhibition presents a constellation of contemporary myth-makers, dreamers and artistic documentarians. Through their collective and individual narrative imaginings, the artists explore themes of migration, belonging and connection.

Archipelago: Visions in Orbit speaks to, and of, the Gallery’s historic location in Whitechapel, East London, a place that has and continues to see the coming together of migrant communities in a time of political polarisation.

Artworks presented within the exhibition include sculpture, photography and painting, performance documentation and textiles works.

The exhibition is accompanied by a public programme including performances and discursive events with artists and curators.