curating
INDEX:
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020/21
2019
• Archipelago: Visions in Orbit
• HERMAPHROGENESIS: Marcin Gawin
2023
• FRUTAS MADURAS: Rocío Boliver
• June Lam
• Intersect: Kelvin Atmadibrata in conversation with selina bonelli
• Intersect: An oracular practice sharing by SERAFINE1369 and Daniella Valz Gen
• Luca Bosani C0041: Time’s Up
2022
• Rocío Boliver: Decrypting Performance Art
• Tiding
2021
• PSX: A Decade Of Performance Art In The U.K.
2020/21
• Gathering In A Time Of Plague
2019
• New Queers On The Block
• Salvage
2018/19
2018
2017
2016
2014/15
2013
2012
• Pause & Affect
2018
• Visible Pride
• New Queers On The Block
2017
• Wake
2016
• Drawn
2014/15
• Performance Art Faction
2013
• Performance Ecconomies
2012
• Aliens In New York
Archipelago: Visions in Orbit
August 2024 - January 2025
Whitechapel Gallery
ABOUT:
“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
➣ Whitechapel Gallery Website
An archipelago is a cluster of islands demarcated by geo-political borders, yet linked through subaqueous landmass. Using the archipelago as a metaphor, the curatorial team have brought together a selection of contemporary myth-makers, dreamers and artistic documentarians, each offering a unique perspective on our shared cultural fabric. This can be seen in the ethereal vessels and portals of Esther Teichmann and the enigmatic leather masks of Jakob Rowlinson. Elsewhere themes of emergence and reflection course through the works of Jade de Montserrat and Cameron Ugbodu, while histories of migration and belonging are echoed in the works of Daniella Valz Gen and Güler Ateș.
Whitechapel Gallery
ABOUT:
“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
➣ Whitechapel Gallery Website
An archipelago is a cluster of islands demarcated by geo-political borders, yet linked through subaqueous landmass. Using the archipelago as a metaphor, the curatorial team have brought together a selection of contemporary myth-makers, dreamers and artistic documentarians, each offering a unique perspective on our shared cultural fabric. This can be seen in the ethereal vessels and portals of Esther Teichmann and the enigmatic leather masks of Jakob Rowlinson. Elsewhere themes of emergence and reflection course through the works of Jade de Montserrat and Cameron Ugbodu, while histories of migration and belonging are echoed in the works of Daniella Valz Gen and Güler Ateș.
Aptly positioned in Whitechapel - a place that has and continues to see the coming together of migrant communities in a time of political polarisation - this exhibition allows a space for complex differences to coalesce by acknowledging an underlying connectivity. Accompanying the exhibition is a public programme including a performative intervention and discursive events with invited artists and curators, taking place throughout Whitechapel Gallery’s Autumn season. Further information on each artist, artworks and the public programme can be found via the link below.
CREDITS:
Co-curated by Benjamin Sebastian, Gözde Altun, Eve Barnes, Molly Clark, Maria Green, Parastoo Jafari, Hannah Lewis, Alessandro Morter, Kuba Ocean, Yasmin Riley, Angela Sanchez-Castrillon, Ajahee Sekkm-Miles, Cosima Straub and Hannah Walker - as culminating practical thesis for completion of the ‘MA Curating Art and Public Programmes’ through Whitechapel Gallery’ & London Southbank University.
All images courtesy of the artists and Whitechapel Gallery.
Co-curated by Benjamin Sebastian, Gözde Altun, Eve Barnes, Molly Clark, Maria Green, Parastoo Jafari, Hannah Lewis, Alessandro Morter, Kuba Ocean, Yasmin Riley, Angela Sanchez-Castrillon, Ajahee Sekkm-Miles, Cosima Straub and Hannah Walker - as culminating practical thesis for completion of the ‘MA Curating Art and Public Programmes’ through Whitechapel Gallery’ & London Southbank University.
All images courtesy of the artists and Whitechapel Gallery.
HERMAPHROGENESIS: Marcin Gawin
as part of the FACET programme
2023
VSSL Studio
ABOUT:
“Long ago, in Ancient Rome, the organs and entrails of sacrificed animals were decoded and interpreted by those tasked with defining the limits of reality. This ancient divination technique— called haruspicy – was performed by a trained priest – called a haruspex – who ritually consulted the liver, lungs, and heart of skinned beasts to discern the will of the gods.
Interdisciplinary artist Marcin Gawin performs a hybrid form of haruspicy in their new installation Hermaphrogenesis, remixing occult divination techniques with queer aesthetics in new forms of media. Here, the artist is interested in the body as a metaphor for the mutability of fixed systems. They hack biology by skinning the sciences, exposing the heteropatriarchal and anthropocentric institutionalization of bodies, both inner and outer, as a cyberpunk/witch haruspex. They etch, sculpt, diagram, exegete, cast, photograph, and manipulate a trinity of hand-crafted silicone organs, leaving us to decipher the will of the queer gods the artist has invoked on our behalf...” (complete text available here)
- Hermaphrogenesis: Organs as Ruins of the Posthuman Body , commissioned exhibiton text from [M] Dudeck
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
2023
VSSL Studio
ABOUT:
“Long ago, in Ancient Rome, the organs and entrails of sacrificed animals were decoded and interpreted by those tasked with defining the limits of reality. This ancient divination technique— called haruspicy – was performed by a trained priest – called a haruspex – who ritually consulted the liver, lungs, and heart of skinned beasts to discern the will of the gods.
Interdisciplinary artist Marcin Gawin performs a hybrid form of haruspicy in their new installation Hermaphrogenesis, remixing occult divination techniques with queer aesthetics in new forms of media. Here, the artist is interested in the body as a metaphor for the mutability of fixed systems. They hack biology by skinning the sciences, exposing the heteropatriarchal and anthropocentric institutionalization of bodies, both inner and outer, as a cyberpunk/witch haruspex. They etch, sculpt, diagram, exegete, cast, photograph, and manipulate a trinity of hand-crafted silicone organs, leaving us to decipher the will of the queer gods the artist has invoked on our behalf...” (complete text available here)
- Hermaphrogenesis: Organs as Ruins of the Posthuman Body , commissioned exhibiton text from [M] Dudeck
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver
2023
VSSL Studio
(as part of the FACET programme)
ABOUT:
“...Boliver's collaboration with photographer Karolina Bazydlo and collaborator Bartlomiej Gudejko (Rocio’s lover at the time) for the FACET program is a bold challenge to the invisibility of the aging female form and female sexuality. The photographic series of twelve images centers the aging female body within the realm of sexual pleasure, desire, and erotic play. The artist has reimagined the conventional 'pin up' calendar idea and created exquisite portrayals of womanly autonomy and female sexuality...”
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
VSSL Studio
(as part of the FACET programme)
ABOUT:
“...Boliver's collaboration with photographer Karolina Bazydlo and collaborator Bartlomiej Gudejko (Rocio’s lover at the time) for the FACET program is a bold challenge to the invisibility of the aging female form and female sexuality. The photographic series of twelve images centers the aging female body within the realm of sexual pleasure, desire, and erotic play. The artist has reimagined the conventional 'pin up' calendar idea and created exquisite portrayals of womanly autonomy and female sexuality...”
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
Launch event of Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver - Video courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver (in collaboration with Karolina Bazydlo and Bartlomiej Gudejko) - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver (in collaboration with Karolina Bazydlo and Bartlomiej Gudejko) - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver - Rocío Boliver performing in collaboration with Karolina Bazydlo and Bartlomiej Gudejko - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
Frutas Maduras: Rocío Boliver - Rocío Boliver performing in collaboration with Karolina Bazydlo and Bartlomiej Gudejko - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
June Lam
2023
VSSL Studio
(as part of the FACET programme)
ABOUT:
“...Collage has a rich history in queer aesthetics and has been a favoured medium for many queer artists. The act of collage-making mirrors the world-making practices of queer culture, where individuals and communities necessarily have learnt to explode, edit, discard and reassemble societal norms and expectations to create their own forms of identities, communities and aesthetics. In this sense, collage can be seen as a form of resistance to dominant cultural narratives and a way to create new possibilities and futures. June Lam's use of collage in his work for the FACET programme continues this tradition. June will be exhibiting 25 new and recent collage works, initiated during the COVID-19 Lockdowns....”
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
VSSL Studio
(as part of the FACET programme)
ABOUT:
“...Collage has a rich history in queer aesthetics and has been a favoured medium for many queer artists. The act of collage-making mirrors the world-making practices of queer culture, where individuals and communities necessarily have learnt to explode, edit, discard and reassemble societal norms and expectations to create their own forms of identities, communities and aesthetics. In this sense, collage can be seen as a form of resistance to dominant cultural narratives and a way to create new possibilities and futures. June Lam's use of collage in his work for the FACET programme continues this tradition. June will be exhibiting 25 new and recent collage works, initiated during the COVID-19 Lockdowns....”
➣ vssl-studio.org/FACET
CREDITS:
Curated by Benjamin Sebastian on behalf of VSSL Studio. Assistant curators: Ash McNaughton & Mine Kaplangi. Funded by Arts Counicl England.
June Lam - Launch event - Video courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
June Lam - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
June Lam - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
June Lam - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.
June Lam - Images courtesy of Marco Berardi & Baiba Sprance.