Public Programme
All of this research on collaboration, sharing, caring for and with each other, accessibility, hosting and communality, has informed and developed Abel Shah’s practice. Their new body of work Exodysis II will be exhibited at The NewBridge Project from 23rd February to 25th March. This is the second iteration of their sculpture installation, first exhibited at the Swiss Church in London in 2021. Influenced by thinking around bodies as archives, the sculptures are reminiscent of skin- or vessel-like objects. Some fragile, awkwardly balanced or shedding their layers, the objects are in parallel states of destruction and repair. Constructed from everyday materials that have been integral to the developments of the 20th and 21st century’s, including urban housing, high-speed transportation, healthcare technologies, information storage and control of movement, the objects start to act as “shells” of our everyday environments and recent histories.
With collaboration at the core of their practice and an interest in the gallery as a space of facilitation, the body of work has developed alongside ongoing dialogues with fellow practitioners and collaborators by thinking about how meaning and relationships are built through language and exploring alternative ways of communicating.
at The NewBridge Project, 2022
Walk & Dinner with Incursions
INCURSIONS will host a walk in the afternoon, beginning at The Laing Gallery and ending at NewBridge where Abel Shah and INCURSIONS will host a dinner together for the walking guests amongst the exhibition.
Incursions will be hosting their weekly walking and talking forum as an interruption to Abel Shah’s sculpture installation Exodysis II on view at The NewBridge Project Gallery. With an interest in how our urban environments are reflected upon our bodies and memories, Abel Shah have invited Incursions to facilitate one of their ‘socio-geographic’ group walks and end the walk at The NewBridge Project, where they will cook together and eat in the gallery amongst the installation with all participants.
During their postponed Practice Makes Practice Residency in 2020, Abel Shah (Alex and Giulia) met duo Incursions (Archie and Kitty) during their sessions on collaboration at The NewBridge Project. Over the course of the last 2 years, they have remained in touch by writing to and Zooming one another, talking a lot about food and social eating, as well as walking and talking, to try and deepen their respective approaches to collaborative practice.
Credits: Photography by various walkers and diners at the event.
Slow Response Sessions
Join Abel Shah in the gallery amongst their sculpture installation Exodysis II to engage and respond to the exhibition and themes present with writing and drawing prompts.
Visitors are invited to join artist duo Abel Shah in the gallery amongst their sculpture installation Exodysis II at various lunchtimes across the exhibition. Drawing and writing prompts will be available for visitors to use as starting points to engage and respond to the exhibition and themes present.
Abel Shah are interested in exploring alternative forms of communication. The aim of this event is to provide time and space for slowing down, for personal contemplation and to play with various ways of expressing thoughts in non-verbal forms.
Materials will be provided.
