Nomenclature for the Time Being

This exhibition gathers the work of Rebecca Bellantoni, Hannah Black, Maren Hassinger, Deborah-Joyce Holman, Marla-Sunshine Kellard-Jones, Atiéna R. Kilfa, Christine Kirubi, Kumbirai Makumbe, Zanele Muholi, Sandra Mujinga, Shenece Oretha, Ingrid Pollard and Ebun Sodipo – artists whose practices span sculpture, performance, writing, photography and video. Most of all, this is a sculpture show, with artists deploying rope, steel wire, leather, plastic, velvet, wood, concrete, petroleum, wax, glass, thread – always with an awareness of the body.

Curated by Imani Mason Jordan, Nomenclature for the Time Being borrows its title from the 2022 book-length poem by Dionne Brand. It proposes that shared sociopolitical realities or structural conditions might also generate certain shared material sensibilities. What emerges could be considered a kind of Black feminist materiality, one that understands objects as social and political actors. These are practices that do not try to represent the world, but actively reconfigure it.

One gallery in the exhibition has been designed by the artist duo repertoire to host a series of performances and other activations that will unfold over its duration. Additional research for Nomenclature for the Time Being has been provided by Nikita Sena Quarshie.