Janice Kerbel: Sink

Janice Kerbel's major new work Sink takes the form of a synchronised swimming routine, using the language of synchronisation to explore the tensions between body and language, movement and stillness, the individual and the collective. Synchronised swimming is marked by a unique history infused with the magic of cinema, the discipline of dance, and the precision and athleticism of contemporary competitive sport. Sink explores those contradictions to imagine a compositional choreography that is both austere and extravagant, performed by specialist, elite female swimmers.

 The first live performances of Sink will take place in the distinctive surroundings of The Western Baths Club, in the west end of Glasgow, on Friday, August 3. Established in 1876, The Western Baths Club is one of a handful of Victorian-era swimming pools in the UK that continue to be in active use. Operated as a private members’ club, Sink offers a rare opportunity to visit the building, and to experience the remarkable pool environment through a unique event. Sink is commissioned  by The Common Guild and part of Festival 2018, the cultural programme for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.

Sink is Kerbel’s largest project to date, and builds on her existent relationship with The Common Guild and Glasgow, where her work DOUG was commissioned and first presented in the Mitchell Library in 2014. Kerbel was shortlisted for the 2015 Turner Prize for this work, which was re-configured and re-presented in the Turner Prize exhibition at Tramway, Glasgow.

Janice Kerbel was born in Canada, she now lives and works in London. Upcoming projects include Beautiful world, where are you? Liverpool Biennial (2018) and Live (2018), a collection of script work co-published by The Polygon Gallery, Vancouver Canada; Occasional Papers, London; Art Museum University of Toronto, Canada and Badischer Kunstverein Karlsruhe Germany. Recent exhibitions and projects include, DOUG, The Common Guild, Glasgow (2014); Kill the Workers for Chisenhale Gallery, London and Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsrhue (2011); See it Now, Art Now, Tate Britain (2010); Remarkable, Frieze Projects (2007); and Nick Silver Can’t Sleep, commissioned by Artangel in collaboration with BBC Radio 3 (2006). Group exhibitions include Space Force Construction, VAC Foundation, Venice, Italy (2017); Art & Alphabet, Kunsthalle Hamburg (2017); le grand balcon: Montreal Biennale (2016); Turner Prize 2015, Tramway, Glasgow (2015); Textilities Once Removed, Fondazione Antonio Ratti, Como, Italy (2016) and Pursuit of Perfection, South London Gallery, London (2012). In 2005 she participated in British Art Show, Baltic, Newcastle (touring). 

Sink is commissioned by The Common Guild and part of Festival 2018, the cultural programme for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships and is supported by The High Commission of Canada.

For more information and booking, please visit www.thecommonguild.org.uk