Who Holds The Sword
an exhibition curated by Isobel Atacus, Flora Bradwell and Lindsey Mclean
50 Celebration Avenue, Stratford, London E20
PV Thursday 26th January, 6pm-9pm
27th January – 10th March 2023
Open Thurs-Sun 12-5pm
Immerse yourself in the swamp-like world of ‘Who holds the sword?’ an exhibition of work with the image of the sword at its centre. Encompassing sculpture, painting, installation and performance this playful show skews traditional gender norms via a contemporary medieval focus. The work fills the space to create an atmospheric environment that plays with perception and creates surprise. A PVC pig’s head eyeballs a flaccid knight, chain mail underpants glint in the light cast from a triple pronged painted blade. Adorning the walls is an armoury of swords forged from a range of materials: some tufted, some knitted, some painted and some you only hold in your head. At times the exhibition becomes setting for sword making workshops and medieval karaoke.Sited in a former Sainsbury’s supermarket this exhibition is supported by HYPHA STUDIOS and made possible by Get Living.
Artists
Haydn Albrow @haydndoesart
Isobel Atacus @isobelatacus
Corsin Billeter @cbilleter
Flora Bradwell @florabradwellart
Anna Choutova @annachoutova1
Laura Copsey @laurachops
Sophie Goodchild @sophiegoodchild
Denise Hickey @up._.at._.dawn
Hee Jyung Kim @heejyungkim
Sophie Lourdes Knight @sophielourdesknight
Andras Nagy-Sandor @andrasnagysandor
Alice Macdonald @alice__mac
Lindsey Jean McLean @lindseyjeanmclean
Taryn O’Reilly @artandwhiskey
Clementine Parrot #Clementine Parrot
Leon Pozniakow @leonpozniakow
Jack Sutherland @jqsutherland
Demelza Watts @demelza.watts
Katherine Vesey #Katherine Vesey
About The Artists
Lindsey, Flora and Isobel are three visual artists who met through an artist-run space, and at the Slade. Their work encompasses painting, sculpture, writing and installation, yet shares a focus on critical and celebratory approaches to world-building through material thinking. They are female-identifying and living locally to Stratford.
They’ve worked individually and collectively across numerous curatorial projects, including the icing room, Gaff, Narrow Gallery and Bad Art. Often there’s been a strong DIY element to their work, always run on a shoestring. More recently they have exhibited in and co-curated Snakes on a Picture Plane at the UK Mexican Arts Society, London. Individual awards include Elizabeth Greenshields (Lindsey), Gilbert Bayes (Flora) and BAG Trust Artworks Open (Isobel).
contact information
Website: www.isobelatacus.com – www.florabradwell.com – www.lindseymclean.co.uk/
Email: [email protected]
Socials: @lindseyjeanmclean @isobelatacus @florabradwellart @the_icing_room @narrow_gallery @gaffspace @badartpresents
opening night
Installation Shots
Portfolio
selected by
Artist Celia Hempton and Get Living
Celia Hempton (born 1981, Stroud, UK) is currently included in British Art Show 9, (touring), and My Life in the Metaverse, curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. A monograph has been published this year by Phillida Reid with accompanying text by Amia Srinivasan. Her work has been included in many institutional shows, including ICA Boston, Whitechapel Gallery and Serpentine London, as well as Performance Space New York, Gwangju Biennale, Art Night with ICA London, amongst others. It is held in the collections of the Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellin, Colombia, The British Council and the Government Art Collection, UK.
@hempton’s work explores concepts of voyeurism in the post-digital age. In her paintings, performances and installations, she investigates the blurred lines of comfort and consent; desire and subjugation, visibility and opacity; seeking to deconstruct the ways in which we engage with each other in a rapidly evolving age of hyper-mediation. Formally, Hempton’s paintings, which range in scale from intimate to life-size, acknowledge the tropes of history painting and the often subjugated female body. Hempton’s richly layered paintings directly play with and confront this historical dynamism, producing tactile celebrations of the body, alongside multiple perspectives on how the bodily gaze is constructed.
In partnership with @wearegetliving
Photo Holly Whittaker.
Featured Artworks
Haydn Albrow
‘Serious Quarrels (Failure In Love)’ (2023)
Broken tufted sword
148 x 47 cm
£300
Corsin Billeter
‘Crossing Swords’ (2023)
Pressed forget-me-nots and watercolour on paper, silver wire in fused glass, brass
14 x 14 cm
£1,330
Sophie Goodchild
‘Squatting to clean and squatting and sitting and missing’
(2023)
Wool and bronze
69 x 38 cm
£1,850
Lindsey Jean McLean
‘Manicure’ (2023)
Oil on linen and wooden frame
24 x 27 cm
£800
TARYN O'REILLY
‘Glory Guts’ (2022)
PVC leatherette, PVC mirror fabric, felt, polystyrene, wall filler, air dry clay, resin, tongue piercings, insulation foam, plaster, acrylic paint
47 x 175 x 120 cm
Oysters are £120 each
Cupcakes are £80 each
JACK SUTHERLAND
‘Spent Force’ (2022)
Oil on canvas
46 x 41 cm
£950
Haydn Albrow
‘Serious Quarrels (The Rarest Dream)’ (2023)
Twisted tufted sword
148 x 42 cm
£300
Corsin Billeter
‘Untitled’ (2023)
Pressed sunflower petals and watercolour on paper, silver wire in fused glass, brass
14 x 14 cm
£1,330
Isobel Atacus
‘Standing Still Erratic’ (2023)
Digital print on textile, copper
200 x 115 x 90 cm and 200 x 120 x 70cm
Each £800
Flora Bradwell
‘Lapdancers’ (2023)
Acrylic on fabric with soft sculpture
120 x 92 cm and 125 x 92cm
£2,500 (the pair)
Denise Hickey
‘The Anarchic Hand’ (2023)
Mixed Media
100 x 45 cm
Price on application
Lindsey Jean McLean
‘Many Directions’ (2022)
Oil on linen
150 x 190 cm
Price on application
Isobel Atacus
‘Soft rocks for salty days’ (2023)
Digital print on textile, stuffing, fishing wire, carabiners
290 x 110 x 30 cm
Individual rocks, from £60, or £950 complete set
Flora Bradwell
‘Lapdancers’ (2023)
Acrylic on fabric with soft sculpture
120 x 92 cm and 125 x 92cm
£2,500 (the pair)
Hee Jyung Kim
‘A Battle, Do My Swords Point Inside Me Or Out of Me’ (2023)
Indian ink, wax pastel on paper, hand cut paper, nails
Variable dimensions (approx 239.5 x 184 cm)
£1,500
Lindsey Jean McLean
‘Spilt Sword’ (2023)
Oil on linen
71 x 30.5 cm
£1,200
CLEMENTINE PARROT
‘Untitled Hand Sword’ (2023)
Mixed Media
100 x 10 cm
Price on application
JACK SUTHERLAND
‘Worrywart’ (2022)
Oil on canvas
25 x 20 cm
£600
Isobel Atacus
‘Soft Rocks For Salty Days’ (2023)
Digital print on textile, stuffing, fishing wire, carabiners
45 x 40 x 14 cm and 30 x 2,215 cm
Each £300
Flora Bradwell
‘Dorothy’ (2023)
Acrylic on fabric with soft sculpture
58 x 150 cm
£300
Lindsey Jean McLean
‘Veil and Sword’ (2022)
Oil on Linen
120 x 190 cm
Price on application
ANDRAS NAGY-SANDOR
‘Step Inside’ (2022)
Acrylic on canvas
200 x 140 cm
£4500
LEON POZNIAKOW
‘The Candy Boys and The Presentation of Love’s Flowers’ (2023)
Watercolour on paper
33 x 52 x 3 cm
£1,200
DEMELZA WATTS
‘In defence of Bag Ladies’ (2023)
Clear PVC bags, glitter confetti, wool glove, plywood
30 x 70 x 30 cm
Price on application
TARYN O'REILLY
‘Glory Guts’ (2022)
PVC leatherette, PVC mirror fabric, felt, polystyrene, wall filler, air dry clay, resin, tongue piercings, insulation foam, plaster, acrylic paint
47 x 175 x 120 cm
Oysters are £120 each
Cupcakes are £80 each
JACK SUTHERLAND
‘Ess with an Ess’ (2019)
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 cm
£850
Isobel Atacus
‘Some Fears’ (2023)
Jesmonite with copper, PVC fabric, dragon eye crystal, sodalite crystal, citrine crystal, pyrite crystal, cast pewter, soap
63 x 42 x 6 cm
£300
Flora Bradwell
‘Tourist’ (2022)
Acrylic on calico with archway inserts,
Approx 250 x 320 cm
Price on application
Alice Macdonald
‘Painted Rapier’ (2023)
Oil on primed MDF
108 x 26 cm
Price on application
TARYN 0'REILLY
‘Wish You Were Here’ (2023)
PVC, mirror, leatherette, velvet, gold rope trimmings, beaded trimmings, wadding, gold rope
90cm x 224 cm
£380
LEON POZNIAKOW
‘Calvins’ (2021)
Brass
Dimensions variable
Not For Sale
KATHERINE VESEY
‘Chain Mail Vest’ (2023)
Knitted soft sculpture
40 x 106 cm
£40 (donation to food bank)
Isobel Atacus
‘Soft Rocks For Salty Days’ (2023)
Digital print on textile, stuffing, fishing wire, carabiners
45 x 40 x 14 cm and 30 x 2,215 cm
Each £300
Anna Choutova
‘Draw’ (2023)
Oil paint on wood
112 x 165 cm
Hand £650
Cigarette £380
Sophie Lourdes Knight
‘The Sword’ (2023),
Acrylic on airdry clay, dishcloth, and canvas, on board
7 x 25 x 66 cm
£900
ANDRAS NAGY-SANDOR
‘Don’t Come Back Empty Handed’ (2022)
Oil on canvas
51 x 51cm
£1015
LEON POZNIAKOW
‘Beneath The Wolf Moon, The Candy Boys Share Their Secrets’ (2023)
Watercolour on paper
33 x 52 x 3cm
£1,200
KATHERINE VESEY
‘Gold sword’ (2023)
Knitted soft sculpture
50 x 15 cm
£40 (donation to food bank)
Corsin Billeter
‘Untitled (St. Sebastian)’
Brass, bronze
Approx 40 x 17 cm
Price on request
Laura Copsey
‘A New River Offering’ (2023)
Scanned chemigram photographic print on paper made from river water, oil, soap and garlic
75 x 18 cm
Price on application
Alice Macdonald
‘Painted Sword’ (2023)
Oil on primed MDF
90 x 22 cm
Price on application
ANDRAS NAGY-SANDOR
‘We Thought We Were Ready’ (2023)
Mixed Media
250 x 250cm
Price on application
LEON POZNIAKOW
‘At The Parade of True Loves Offering, The Candy Boys Race to Their Lovers’ Sides’ (2023)
Watercolour on paper
33 x 52 x 3 cm
£1,200
KATHERINE VESEY
‘Silver Sword’ (2023)
Knitted soft sculpture
60 x 25 cm
£50 (donation to food bank)
