British Art Show 9

Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark exhibition British Art Show 9 (BAS9) will culminate in Plymouth this autumn, after successful showings in Aberdeen, Wolverhampton and Manchester.

37 artists have been confirmed for this fourth iteration of British Art Show 9, which brings the work of some of the UK’s most exciting contemporary artists to four cities every five years.

British Art Show 9 is curated by Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar and highlights work that has been made since 2015. The exhibition is structured around three main themes – Healing, Care and Reparative History, Tactics for Togetherness and Imagining New Futures – and has evolved with every city, with a different combination of artworks and artists that respond to each location. 

In Plymouth, the exhibition will be centred on the migration of bodies, plants, objects and ideas; taking inspiration from and referencing the role it has played in Britain’s colonial conquests, as well as the encounters between British and other cultures that have and continue to enrich our society. 

The artists will present their work across four different venues: KARST, The Levinsky Gallery at the University of Plymouth and MIRROR at Arts University Plymouth until 23 December 2022 and at The Box until 8 January 2023. The exhibition is also delivered in partnership with Plymouth Culture.

The artists showing in Plymouth are: Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Oliver Beer, Maeve Brennan, James Bridle, Helen Cammock, Than Hussein Clark, Cooking Sections (Alon Schwabe & Daniel Fernández Pascual), Sean Edwards, Mandy El-Sayegh, Gaika, Beatrice Gibson, Patrick Goddard, Anne Hardy, Celia Hempton, Andy Holden, Marguerite Humeau, Lawrence Lek, Ghislaine Leung, Elaine Mitchener, Oscar Murillo, Grace Ndiritu, Uriel Orlow, Hardeep Pandhal, Hetain Patel, Florence Peake, Heather Phillipson, Joanna Piotrowska, Abigail Reynolds, Margaret Salmon, Katie Schwab, Tai Shani, Hanna Tuulikki, Sin Wai Kin, Caroline Walker, Alberta Whittle, Rehana Zaman. 

British Art Show 9 reflects a precarious moment in Britain’s history. During this time politics of identity and nation, and concerns of social, racial and environmental justice have pervaded public consciousness. The artists presented illuminate and respond in critical ways to this complex situation, imagining more hopeful futures and exploring new modes of resistance. The exhibition includes film, photography, painting, sculpture, performance, installation, as well as commissions that engage with local histories in Plymouth.  

The exhibition includes a programme of artist films and a dedicated website which enables artists to share works online. A programme of events and talks will take place in Plymouth, while outreach and Ambassador programmes will create further opportunities for people to engage with the exhibition and its themes.

Selected highlights of BAS9 Plymouth
Oliver Beer’s Household Gods (2019), a sound and sculptural installation consisting of vessels selected by the artist for their specific musical resonances to create a symphony that resonates throughout the gallery.

Cooking Sections’ CLIMAVORE: Marsh Orchards / Mining Meadows (2022), a project that seeks to develop a long-term plan to transform the riparian zone of Plymouth back into a thriving ecosystem that grows food while cultivating habitats.

The premier of an immersive film installation by Beatrice Gibson, Dreaming Alcestis (2022), that shifts the focus of Euripides’ tragedy back towards the play’s mostly silent, sacrificial female protagonist reimagined from a contemporary feminist perspective.

Celia Hempton’s creation of an expansive abstract mural as a context for her Chat Random paintings, bringing them together as one work.

Marguerite Humeau’s Venus of Frasassi, A 10-year-old female human has ingested a rabbit’s brain (2018), part of her series of sculptural works often titled after prehistoric Venus figures. 

Ghislaine Leung’s sculptural intervention VIOLETS 2 (2018) in which she uses deceptively minimal means and readymade objects to highlight what is often unnoticed in institutions.

Alberta Whittle’s evolving body of installation, performance and film work that reflects on the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage from Plymouth.