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I'm pleased to announce that I shall be exhibiting some new work in another I Heart Art group show. In January 2018, 30 artists across Europe were paired and exchanged three statements to inspire each other to make original work specifically for the EXCHANGE show, to be shown firstly Friday 18th - 25th May 2018 at Stour Space, London and then in Antwerp. “We have far more in common than that which divides us.” A paraphrased statement by MP Jo Cox from her maiden speech in 2015. She was murdered by a far right extremist during her referendum campaign in 2016. The EXCHANGE show aims to explore the 'differences' that separate us socially, culturally and geographically and to attempt to bridge those gaps creatively and with humour. In the not so distant past, as children at school, some of us may have been paired with 'pen pals' across the seas in the hope that in writing to each other we would improve our language and communication skills and perhaps find a friend or connection despite the distance between us. Towns were 'twinned' across Europe, encouraging the idea that we were not so different from our cousins abroad, that our similarities and differences could be celebrated and that we might feel part of a global rather than parochial community. Both actions encouraged broad thinking and a welcoming outlook to others, to 'the other'. Recent political events have had the opposite effect – open arms have been crossed defensively, outstretched hands have become fists, dialogue has been shut down or deliberately misinterpreted. We need not share a common tongue, a piece of land or a cultural history to share a thought, a joke, a feeling. To exchange a point of view, a vision, is both throwaway and precious. It means everything and nothing. It is all we have to give. By pairing artists randomly across continents, by playing with boundaries, limits and borders in the exhibition space, by laughing in the face of adversity we can challenge this new, reductive rhetoric. After all, what have we got to lose? Artist pairing are as follows.... Louisa Dunn - Brian Lunn Carmen Van Geffen - Frances Grant Denise Leworthy - Chris Giorgi Senne Marquienie - Wendy Kirwood Naser Kianersi - Vikki Hill Anita Wernstrom-Pitcher - Lee Hazeldine Hannah Baker - Anja Lubach Orphee Pannekoucke - Mark Shaw Howard Mason - Andrew Smith Alexander Voutchkov - Jenny Walden Gilles Hellemans - Dani Penhaligan Maria Demas - Aron Spall Martyn Cockram - Elle Lever Paulien Verheyen - Lee Shearman Rich Martin - Mark Freemantle What: Exchange
When: 18th – 25th May 2018, 9am-5pm, free entry Private view: Friday 18th May, 5-10pm, free entry Where: Stour Space, 7 Roach Road, Tower Hamlets, London, E3 2PA
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