Public Programme

ALCHEMY OF THE SOUL’ curated by Charly Blackburn and Holly Birtles
PRIVATE VIEW 10th August 2023
Open 11th August – 3rd September 2023
60 Conduit Street, London W1S 2YZ
Kindly supported by Regents Street W1

In collaboration with Hypha Studios,‘Alchemy of the Soul’ is curated by Charly Blackburn and Holly Birtles; the focus of the proposed events is to bring opportunities for artists with a shared concern with the transmutation of core earth materials associated with geological phenomena. Charly Blackburn and Holly Birtle have a common research area regarding extraction, material and place to develop new work. Their exhibition will bring in new networks with geological societies, scientists and artists. Confirmed talks include: Samuel Zealey – sculpture and sustainability, Ros Maprayi – Regarding geologic forces of minerals, Holly Birtles – Performance and Volcanoes.

About the curators:

Holly Birtles’ photographic practice incorporates performance, prop production informed by multi-disciplinary collaborations with writers and musicians. In her work she links performance to place; places consider ecologies and placement and agency within the wider ecosystem. Charly Blackburn is an artist and material explorer. Forging poetic connections between chemistry and material science. Her work tells stories about the deep structures of matter, from the mystifying behaviours of minerals at atomic interfaces to the colossal extraction of the earth’s subsurface.