Join us for an online talk as artists Joy Labinjo and Larry Anchiampong expand on the ideas and inspiration behind their work in Breathing the Light exhibition.
Joy Labinjo began the paintings on show in Breathing the Light as lockdown was punctured by mass protests surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement which surged around the world. Bringing to the foreground issues always present in her work, she asks us to consider notions of race, social justice, being and belonging.
Larry Achiampong’s film ‘Reliquary II’ is a meditation on the trauma of forced separation between himself and his children during lockdown. Speaking directly to his kids through a letter written at night when all other demands subside, Achiampong reminds them to hold onto what’s important in life as they create a path through an often socially and politically divisive UK.
This event will include the screening of the 12 minute film ‘Reliquary II’, an in-conversation between the artists and curator Jess Twyman, before opening up to Q&A with the audience.
To join this online talk, click on the Zoom link here.
Biographies
Larry Achiampong
Larry Achiampong employs imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity. He examines his communal and personal heritage – in particular, the intersection between pop culture and the postcolonial position, as he crate-digs the vaults of history.
Larry Achiampoing lives and works in London and Essex. He exhibits nationally and internationally including Liverpool Biennial (2021), Frieze, London (2020), ‘A Lament for Power’, Art Exchange, Colchester; ‘When the Sky Falls’, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton (2020); ‘Get Up Stand Up Now’, Somerset House, London (2019); the ‘Diaspora Pavilion’, Venice Biennale (2017) and ‘Finding Fanon’, Tate Modern (2016)
He is represented by Copperfield, London.
Joy Labinjo
Joy Labinjo’s large-scale paintings often depict intimate scenes of everyday life often based on figures appearing in personal and archival imagery that include family photographs, found images and historical material. Her work investigates themes that include but not limited to identity, political voice, power, Blackness, race, history, community and family. These explorations echo her experience of having multiple identities – growing up Black, British and Nigerian in the 90s and early 00s.
Joy Labinjo lives and works in London. Her recent exhibitions include: The Armoury, New York (2021); Royal Academy (2020); Frieze London (2020); Tiwani Contemporary (2020); The Breeder, Athens (2020;, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2019); Bloc Projects, Sheffield, UK (2019); Tiwani Contemporary, London, UK, (2018); Cafe Gallery Projects, London, UK (2018); Morley Gallery, London (2018) and Baltic 39, Newcastle upon Tyne (2017).
She is represented by Tiwani Contemporary, London.
