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Thresh(hold)
Emii Alrai | Miriam Cahn | Camilla Dilshat | Sotiris Gonis | Graham Gussin | Ania Mokrzycka | Shahpour Pouyan | Tal Regev
20th March - 11th May 2024
Emii Alraiis an artist and trained museum registrar whose work spans material investigation in relation to memory, critique of the western museological structure and the complexity of ruins. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, her work operates as large-scale realms built in relation to bodies of research which concern archaeology and the natural environments objects are excavated from. Weaving in oral histories, inherited nostalgia and the details of language to question the rigidity of Empire and the power of hierarchy to interpolate the static presence of history. Clay vessels, gypsum forms and steel armatures punctuate the labyrinth-like spaces Alrai creates, mimicking museum dioramas and romanticised visions of the past.
Miriam Cahn, born in Basel, Switzerland in 1949, is a renowned artist celebrated for her provocative and bold creations. Educated at the Schule für Gestaltung Basel, Cahn's involvement in feminist and anti-nuclear movements profoundly influenced her artistic vision. Her paintings and drawings boldly tackle themes of feminism, child endangerment, and societal critique, often portraying visceral representations of female experiences. Despite their controversial nature, Cahn's works resonate deeply with audiences worldwide, and she has exhibited extensively.
Camilla Dilshat is a London-based sculpture/installation artist of Uyghur ethnicity, born in 1998. She studied at the City & Guilds of London Art School, receiving the Tony Carter Prize in 2023 and serving as the 2023/24 Wood Fellow. Her art practice explores bodily experiences in the context of diasporic self-expression as a London-born Uyghur, stemming from personal reflections on misunderstandings about her ethnicity. Her work centers on the body's expressions, utilizing materials like salt dough, sand, sunflower seed husks, latex skins, and ceramic tongues to evoke sensory memories and visceral feelings. Common domestic symbols like dining chairs and terracotta walls are intertwined with elements like the calabash gourd, representing nostalgia, mouths, and stomachs. Through sculpture, she aims to reveal the disconnection of diasporic experiences while fostering moments of re-remembering and community building, portraying the complexity of belonging and identity across blurred boundaries.
Sotiris Gonis (b. 1990, Greece) is a visual artist working in the fields of photography, sound, video and installations. He sees teaching and creativity as deeply intertwined practices, focusing on non-verbal exchanges and empathetic interactions with the beings and space that surrounds us. His research develops around the concept of silence as a tool of transformation and the emotional significance of the ephemeral trace, which incorporates underlying knowledge and experiences.
Living and working in London,UK and teaching as a point 4 lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, Postgraduate Sculpture, UCL. Graham Gussin's artistic practice revolves around exploring the human experience of the infinite, often influenced by science fiction narratives and the manipulation of perception through mass communication and consumer culture. He frequently evokes a sense of displacement, tapping into our longing to be elsewhere in time or space. Inspired by science fiction works like H.G. Wells's "The Island of Doctor Moreau" and J.G. Ballard's exploration of the "internal landscape," Gussin's pieces often relate to romantic landscape traditions and utopian spaces depicted in such literature. Much of Gussin's art requires viewer interaction for its realization. For instance, in his piece "Beyond the Infinite" from 1994, he manipulated a scene from Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," presenting two film loops of the same scene with slight variations. By disrupting Kubrick's narrative sequence, Gussin prompts viewers to become conductors of time and space, standing between the two monitors. Gussin, born in 1960 and based in London, has a background in art education, having studied at Middlesex Polytechnicand Chelsea School of Art. Additionally, his exhibition program from 1997-1998 received support from various organizations, including the Patrons of New Art, Hereford Salon, and Akeler Developments PLC. (Tate Britain Exhibition: Art Now: Graham Gussin)
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Ania Mokrzyckadelves into the realms of threshold environments and corporeality, perceiving them as permeable and prone to intermingling, woven into symbiotic connections. Her artistic practice encompasses a diverse range of mediums including moving image, sound, text,ceramics, and performance. Her aim is to cultivate narratives and viewpoints that transcend hierarchy, offering insights into lived experiences and interactions between species. With a Master's degree from the Royal College of Art and a Bachelor's degree from Edinburgh Napier University, Mokrzycka has showcased her work globally and participated in residencies at prestigious locations such as Nida Art Colony in Lithuania, Trelex Residency in Switzerland, and Joya: arte + ecología in Spain. She has been supported by institutions including Arts Council England, Responsa Foundation, and Eaton Fund. Additionally, she collaboratively manages the experimental art research platform IRRUPTIVE CHORA.
Born in Iran, in 1979, Shahpour Pouyanhas an MFA in Integrated Practices and New Forms at Pratt Institute, New York, and has an MFA in Painting from the Tehran University of Art. He previously studied Neoplatonic Philosophy at the Iranian Institute of Philosophy and received a diploma in Mathand Physics from Elmieh School, Tehran. Between 2007 and 2009 he taught art history and the history of Persian Architecture at Science and Culture University, Tehran. He currently lives and works in New York.Shahpour Pouyan’s work is a commentary on power, domination and possession through the force of culture. His artwork seeks to transform historical or political issues into a monument of poetic and visual form. The repetition of mistakes and errors is one of his main concerns, and he reflects this by bringing historical aesthetics and mediums to his contemporary art practice, for example, reinventing chainmail, helmets and Persian miniatures. His work does not announce a political agenda; instead, he grapples with materials provided from the political world and historic documents; the poetic qualities of power and the human condition inspire him. His recent works and projects are influenced by science, archeology, and the poetry of architectural forms that bridge past and present.He has participated in Lahore Biennial in Pakistan; National Art Museum of China in Beijing, British Museum in London, and Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kochi Island. His work is part of many prominent private and public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The British Museum, The Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, and etc. In 2016, Pouyan was shortlisted for the Victoria and Albert Museum Prize, London, UK and has been awarded the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship for Visual Arts in Umbria, Italy. He has participated in several international residencies including International Cite Des Arts, Paris, the Pegasus Art Foundation, Hyderabad, India, and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, NY, USA in March 2014.4
Tal Regev, a British artist born in 1985, commands attention with her captivating artworks showcased in renowned galleries and museums such as Eduardo Secci and Pietrasanta. Her talent has been recognized in the media through features in esteemed publications like HYPEBEAST and Art Viewer, with a recent highlight being the March 2023 HYPEBEAST article, "Ketabi Bourdet Reflects on Identity and Coming of Age in 'Premiers Vertiges'." Regev's academic journey, including an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London, underpins her relentless pursuit of artistic excellence. Currently residing and working in London, Regev's innovative approach and profound themes promise to leave an enduring mark on contemporary art, captivating audiences with each stroke of her brush and further solidifying her position as a rising star in the art world.
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