Artists
Mele Broomes │ Ashanti Harris │ Asuf Ishaq │ Michael Mersinis │ Nadia Zhaya & Arthur Start
Exhibition Dates
23 September – 4 October 2023
Preview: 22 September; 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Venue
Reid Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
Supported by
Glasgow School of Art Exhibitions
Press
Dreaming New Landscapes, Harvey Dimond, The Skinny Feature p. 55 (December Issue)
Signalling an Artwork Event, The Herald Scotland (September 2023)
Links
Glasgow School of Art
GSA Exhibitions
GSA Exhibitions Blog
GSA Exhibitions Flickr Documentation
Image: Shimmering (2023), Shalmali Shetty
For full details of Participating Artists and Works, Click Here
Dreams are borne in the inbetweenness of reality and irreality; on the periphery of sleep and wakefulness; along the spectral seam between remembering and forgetting; on the margins that define landscapes and territories, integrating the personal with the political. Dreaming becomes a space in time, contained within the body and its ambit of consciousness. Dreaming is a consequence of pasts that cannot return but that which still haunt; effected by hopes that are yet to arrive; wherein the body grapples in the ephemeral passage of the present, and traverses undefined, surreal realms. Dreaming becomes a resounding memory of warped, overlapping timelines; and the body a shadow, manifesting these memories.
Showcasing a series of films, photographs, objects, installations, and marked by two performances, the exhibition invites viewers to contemplate and dream, both individually and collectively.
NOTE
The title on the one hand alludes to the temporal dimension of the past bearing memories; and on the other, our bodies in the present continuous, that function as an archive—shadowing and manifesting these memories.
Memories serve as repositories of not only a sense of a deep human history, preserving imprints of inherited ancestral knowledge, historical timelines, or experiences from individual lifetimes, but also a grappling with present circumstances and unascertained futures, blurring the confines of a linear sense of time. Perhaps it is through the process of dreaming then, in the liminal, inbetween space of sleep and wakefulness, that one is able to traverse and embody the many lives across the imagined, elusive, spectral, fictitious, mythological, as well as feelings of desire, aspirations and goals, and the accompanying notions of fear, fragmentation and devastation.
Dreams have held a symbolic, spiritual, cultural and philosophical significance across societies. My grandmother often said that while the act of sleeping was liminal, dreaming in the process, was a consequence of the soul leaving the body to encounter other souls and parallel dimensions, possibilities, alternatives, while the body remained within the physical realm in the form of a vessel, a mediator, an abode. But for the soul to return, the body in turn has to be cared for, preserved, protected, nourished, cleansed. But how do you ensure the well-being of the body in a world rife with circumstances?
What does it mean to dream in a given time and space, in the confines of a home, or in the liminal spaces of transitions? What does it mean to dream individually, or collectively in association to landscapes and environments one inhabits, the stories handed down through generations, the intangible experiences one has had, the tangible realities we are all undergoing? What does it mean to dream amidst the current socio-political and ecological conditions, with the rapid advancements in technology, the constant inundation and exposure to media visuals, overwhelming news reports and the sensory overload we experience? How do encounters, associations, memories, erasures, emotions and the very dreams resulting from them, contribute to the shaping of our subjective perception of the world? …when do dreams transform into nightmares?
In his seminal work ‘The Location of Culture’ (1994), critical theorist Homi K. Bhabha speaking of the postcolonial condition, elucidates on ideas of the in-between and liminal in relation to concepts of diversity, hybridity and the Third Space. He conjectures, “we should remember that it is the ‘inter’—the cutting edge of translation and negotiation, the in-between space—that that carries the burden of the meaning of culture. It makes it possible to begin envisaging national, anti-nationalist histories of the ‘people’. And by exploring this Third Space, we may elude the politics of polarity and emerge as the others of our selves.” (p.38)
The exhibition brings together works of five artists responding to the theme of ‘dreaming’ through a multifaceted narrative, tying together their explorations of time, space, memory, nostalgia, desire, loss, fragmentation and the general human experience. The works collectively underscore the use of technology’s ability to float beyond the constraints of a linear sense of time. Intriguingly, sound becomes a persisting element across the works—conversational, melodic, reverberating, overlapping, intersecting, haunting—reconstituting fragmented landscapes.
Nadia Zhaya’s installation in collaboration with Arthur Start’s soundtrack is evocative of a primeval eternal flame that serves as a timeless witness to the transforming aspects of nature and civilization. Set up within the confines of darkness, it becomes a source of spiritual energy symbolic of creation, innovation and destruction; a personal drive, desire, force and a dreaming. The mirrors placed on diagonally opposite walls, represent voids, consuming and reflecting the light.
Ashanti Harris initiates a ritual of remembrance within a sacred mud circle—the earth, a place of identity. The performance pays tribute to an ancestral figure to honour their legacy, wisdom and guidance. While the offering of golden corn cobs placed over an an oil drum is an expression of gratitude to a homeland and those who came before us, it also serves as a reminder of its association to the violent histories of colonisation, slavery and oppression.
In line with this, Mele Broomes’ enclosed canopy created to house the sound work, transforms into a sacred shrine for the purpose of communal listening, contemplation and poetic imagination—a sensory experience through auditory means. The soundtrack is an ode to culinary traditions that may have been lost or transformed over time, an oral retelling that regurgitates memories and emotions of community gatherings that come together to cook and share space. The performance on the other hand, reflects on the conversations had between herself and her sibling about experiences of ongoing sleep paralysis—a transitional state of possibilities and ensuing uncertainties.
In contrast, Michael’s exploration of memory resonates through a series of photographs captured during earthquakes, creating a sense of a non-synchronous time and space. The installation of the military tent emanates a sequence of low-frequency droning, visceral and haunting radio transmissions capturing an auditory landscape following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both series contribute to delineating a ruptured landscape impacting the body and the psysche, through trauma, loss and pain. The landscape is rife with shattered dreams and hopes, lost lives and bodies—the very land sustaining Ashanti’s oil barrel and ritual circle—reminders of land and war, but also reminiscent of life, death and rebirth.
While still reflecting on this, Asuf’s films delineate the aftermath of war, partition, separation, migration and fragmentation. Deriving narratives from personal archives, memories of his childhood and stories from his mother, he illustrates the experiences of growing up within an unfamiliar landscape away from his own homeland of Pakistan, insinuating a deep sense of nostalgia. The muslin drapes alongside an analogue TV, add a spectral layer to his films. The use of muslin alludes to themes of colonization, exploitation, and trade through cultural economy that resulted in its eventual ruin, loss and death of the
material.
~~~
Linked Events
Performances:
Siblings with sleep paralysis by Mele Broomes on Preview, Friday, 22nd September 2023; 6:00 p.m.
A Burial with Shalmali by Ashanti Harris pn Tuesday, 26th September 2023; 6:00-7:00 p.m.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
GSA Exhibitions Team: Jenny Brownrigg, John Farrell
Tech Team: Michael Hill Johnston, Maria Gondek, Louise Campion, Tom Gibson, Bronagh Murray, Hannah McInally, Heather McDonald, Harald Turek, Siri Black, Sean Black
Invigilators: Jessica Crowe, Caitlin Heaney, Sarah Grace Scott, Joanna Stawnicki, Viktoria Szaboova, Natalie Dawson
Mentorship & Advice: Ranjana Thapalyal
Install Advice: Zephyr Liddell
Documentation: Alan Dimmick, Tiu Makkonen
Poster Design: D8 Ltd., Glasgow
A special thank you to my father for suggesting the title from his own writings; my mother for tailoring the brilliant dull gold outfit; my flatmates for being so patient with me through the past months; my friends for making sure they checked on me, took me out, got me flowers; my colleagues and coworkers for accommodating my random schedules and timelines; my mentors who have looked out for me over the past years; the community I’ve found in Glasgow for being so supportive with my creative practice, and for the generous Scottish arts for making me a part of it.
This exhibition is supported by The Glasgow School of Art as part of the School’s commitment to supporting 2020 graduates with physical shows once COVID restrictions allowed.
SHALMALI SHETTY 