Art Preview: A Joyful Archipelago @ Guest Projects

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 143 months ago
Art Preview: A Joyful Archipelago @ Guest Projects

An exhibition by a collective of ten emerging female Russian artists opens tomorrow at Yinka Shonibare's Guest Projects space in Hackney.

A Joyful Archipelago, takes as its starting point the semi-fictional story of a closed town "N".

Closed towns began forming in the USSR from the 1940s onwards. They had no names and were not marked on maps so they could be used as bases for military, industrial or scientific facilities. The unique feature of "N" is a ban on all mass communications. Cut off from the rest of the world, residents looked inwards and invented new internal communication techniques.

The original, political artwork in the show explores the role of community activity in an individual-centred society and life in authoritarian regimes.

Visit on the evening Friday 20 April and immerse yourself in a special dinner-party-esque event, as the group take part in a performance/discussion/live art type thing with culinary treats for guests along the way. There's also traditional Russian refreshment on offer in the form of vodka.

The exhibition is curated by Chelsea College Fine Art graduate Olga Grotova who secured the use of Guest Projects for the collective under an initiative conceived by 'Nelson's Ship in a Bottle' artist Yinka Shonibare, to offer artists of any discipline free project space by Regents Canal for one month.

A Joyful Archipelago is at Yinka Shonibare's Guest Projects, Sunbury House, 1 Andrews Road, E8 from 13-28 April (Thursday - Sunday, 12-6pm). Special event is on Friday 20 April, 7-9pm. Admission free.

Last Updated 12 April 2012