Part of a growing DIY curatorial scene, this exhibition will engage audiences through work that, despite its variety of subject matter and media, shares an objective of drawing attention to socio-political issues and demonstrates how visual art can be used as an emotive politicising tool.
DAMFCY have hand-picked five artists from around the UK and overseas, bringing them together to present audiences with their personal and impassioned responses to current issues that affect everyone:
Maximillian Hartley presents two short films: Genii Loci 001 examines the shapes and textures of a whale carcass to explore species endangerment and the impact of climate change and pollution; while Genii Loci 002 follows an anti-Trump march to explore protest from individual and collective perspectives.
Nathan Caldecott uses installation to explore contemporary disposable culture, and changing notions of value and function. Other work presents distorted digital GIF images as pieces of minimalist sculpture in their own right.
Nafsika Petrogka presents digital print images that create dark, nostalgic, memory-infused atmospheres that capture personal or collective memories and story-telling.
Viviana Troya uses security cameras in Who’s Not Waiting For Death, capturing glimpses of various waiting rooms including a Bogota geriatric centre to explore the notion of waiting and the treatment of elderly people.
Rayvenn D’Clark creates hyper-real sculpture to explore the materiality of the ‘copy’, and fuel a discussion of the irregular position of black artists in a predominantly white art world.
Ohwell? sees the curatorial debut of DAMFCY, which aims to challenge the contemporary art world, inspire wider and more cohesive discussions, and work towards the elimination of the powerful and restrictive hierarchy pervasive throughout the industry. As a space that itself challenges perceptions of authority, The Old Police Station in New Cross is an inspired venue for their first show, and the launch of their brand and first magazine.
