Barbican Arts Group Trust, 114 Blackhorse Lane, E17 6AA
June 08-29, Open Thursday-Sunday 12-5pm
Opening reception; Friday June 08, 6.30-9pm
Saelia Aparicio
Roy Immanuel
Xiaoyang Li
Graham Lambkin
John Thole
Teratology is a term currently connected to the study of physiological development and its potential abnormalities, which also includes deformities in botany, but in the 16th and 17th centuries teratology was essentially the “science of monsters”, which were the subject of collection, wild misrepresentation and propaganda.
The exhibition, Teratology, is to be treated as an organism in a continuous state of development, exploring themes, structures and functions relating to the body, myth and monsters. This is a collective dialogue which functions as a myth, or inhabits the body of a ‘monster’, a growing organism, continuously reshaping in response to its environment.
Once initial work has been established, artists over a period of time are encouraged to create new works that interact and respond to the body of the show. Works can be replaced, rearranged or added to. Artists can collaborate and respond in any way they deem appropriate. The artwork is never a finished product but part of a living process, a practice, that can be reactivated and reshaped at different times.
Teratology has been conceived and curated by John Thole, with the support of the Barbican Arts Group Trust.
Saelia Aparicio (Lives and works in London). Recent exhibitions include: Cadena Atrofica, Centro Puertas de Castilla, Spain (2018); Retour Sur Mullholland Drive, curated by Nicolas Bouriaud, La Panacce, Montpellier, France (2017); Sarabande group show, Sarabande, The Lee Alexander Mcqueen Foundation, London (2017); Your consequences have actions, The Tetley, Leeds, UK (2017); Burning with Joy, ASC gallery, London (2016); New Contemporaries, ICA, London (2016); A mystical day, co-curated by the Serpentine galleries and Tai Shani, the cockpit, London (2016). http://www.saelito.com/
Roy Immanuel (b. 1983. Lives and works in London.) Recent exhibitions include: Saltpetre King, Casa Cultural Amaru, Lima, (2017), Subjective Reality, Shanghai MOCA, (2016) the Function Room London (2015) and Saatchi New Sensations (2014). He received a Masters degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in 2014 and was the 2014 recipient of the Hine painting prize. http://royimmanuel.com/
Xiao-yang Li (b. 1985, Harbin, China. Lives and works in London.) Her most recent exhibitions and awards include: Totem Index, narrative projects, London (2017); A Splinter in the Sun, curated by Tim Stoner, narrative projects, London (2016); Next Generation, from Ruth Borchard Collection, Piano Nobile Kings Place, London (2016); Heads, curated by Vera Portatadino, Yellow artist run space, Varese (2015); Bloomberg New Contemporaries, touring exhibition: ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) London, Newlyn Art Gallery, World Museum, Liverpool (2014-2015); Finalist at Dentons Art Prize, Dentons London (2016); Fellow (stipend), Vermont Studio Residency, USA (2016). www.xiaoaroundtheworld.co.uk
Graham Lambkin (b.1973, Dover, England) is a multidisciplinary artist and publisher whose work embraces audio, visual and text-based concerns. Recent exhibitions include: Tidal Archers, The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC, NY (2017); Moon Blows Close, Kunstlerhaus, Stuttgart, Germany (2016); Marble On The Rot, 356 Mission Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2015); Came To Call Mine, Audio Visual Arts, NYC, NY (2014). Lambkin is based in London/New York.
John Thole (b. 1978 , Banbury. Lives and works in London.) His recent exhibitions include: Night Plinths, Narrative Projects, London (2018); Subjective Reality, SheShan MOCA and Forbidden City Gallery, Shanghai, China (2016); Jerwood Drawing prize, Jerwood Space, London, the Wilson, Cheltenham, Sydney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury and Falmouth Art Gallery (2016); A Bestiary, Turf Projects, Croydon (2015); Bloomberg New Contemporaries, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), London, World Museum, Liverpool (2014); A New Circle, Forbidden City Gallery, Shanghai, China (2014). http://www.johnthole.com/
