Acts of Union

1 Westgate Street, London, E8

PV: Thursday, 7th November, 6 – 9pm

Open: 8th November 2024 – 4th January 2025, Thursday – Saturday (12 – 6pm), Sunday (11am – 5pm)

Holiday Closing: 22nd- 29th December 2024

‘We have been living in an era of revivalism’, wrote David Egerton in the Guardian in late June 2022, speaking specifically of revived notions of a ‘[Great] Global Britain’. From Brexit to hard boarders, echoes of Rule Britannia are never far from public consciousness — with political discourse, left and right alike, consistently evoking visions of a ‘buccaneering’ Britain, here to steer us through the choppy deterioration of public services, culture wars, cost of living crises and rising far-right extremism. 

But after 14 years of austerity, is the deflective flag-waving finally leaving a sour taste? Is it time to question who exactly is this apocryphal notion of the ‘United’ Kingdom actually serving? Referencing the Acts of Union that created the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707, this exhibition stands as a point of rupture against nationalism, state sovereignty, imperialist legacy and political populism.

Featuring works spanning photography, sculpture, textiles and moving image, this show brings together 13  emerging artists — with works that engage critically with what it means to live, work and sow new seeds of national identity amongst the backdrop of a post-Brexit, divided, binary Britain.  

Beverley Duckworth
Jody Evans
A. Howard
AC Larsen
Dave McCorry

Joseff Morgan
Timothy Ogu
Isobel Scarsbrook
Clara Scullion
Alexandra Warren