Vehicle for the Psychopomp
2023
2023
Psychopomps (Greek for 'guide of souls') are archetypal figures who are known for their ability to help people through such important moments of passage as death. Humans have always wondered what survives the death of the body and how it makes the transition from this existence to the next. Imagined solutions have become embedded in many of the world’s mythological tales, religious texts, and sacred narratives. Psychopomps, which act as escorts to the afterlife, appear repeatedly throughout these stories.
Soon This Will Be Over
18.08.2022 - 08.09.2022
Sarabande Foundation est. by Lee Alexander McQueen
22 Hertford Rd
London N1 5SH
UK
18.08.2022 - 08.09.2022
Sarabande Foundation est. by Lee Alexander McQueen
22 Hertford Rd
London N1 5SH
UK
Marta Klara exibited sculpture entitled ‘Memento Vivere’ translates from Latin as a reminder of the pleasure of living. It is rooted in the artist’s year-long experience working in a funeral home in London. Rock-like formations are recurring shapes in her body of work. This time they balance on each other creating a monument inspired by the so-called gardens of remembrance dedicated to preserving the memory and legacy. The piece is accompanied by AI-generated portraits digitally printed on ceramic plates.
papier-mâché, aluminium, fabrics, acrylic paint, resin, ceramic, cement, soil; 3.2 m; 2022
Horsewife
They have been married for a while. Getting herself noticed has always been a struggle. Her devotion and love for her husband - absolute. Nevertheless, he always looked right through, never really acknowledging her. He was obsessed by his passion for horse-riding and the mare that swept the board at the most prestigious races. He spends his days in the stable - in a daze of unconditional love for his female horse. His sensual even seductress at times wife could not be fooled. She has long understood she would never make it onto the podium of her husband’s desires. Until that day when she changed her perfume for an unsettling beastly scent that on her skin literally gave off the smell and warmth of a stable. That of the mare’s coat. She was bewildered by the smell at first, but she got used to it quickly. As a matter of fact, this awoke in her husband, a sudden and insatiable desire for her, bestowing her with a new lease on life. She never would have thought she could get everything she had been longing for so long - outright from a bottled scent. For years she played the bitter shrew, and next you know, she was reliving her sweet sixteen all over again. A miracle of olfactive desire that subtly exuded the relief and release of simmering ardours.
They have been married for a while. Getting herself noticed has always been a struggle. Her devotion and love for her husband - absolute. Nevertheless, he always looked right through, never really acknowledging her. He was obsessed by his passion for horse-riding and the mare that swept the board at the most prestigious races. He spends his days in the stable - in a daze of unconditional love for his female horse. His sensual even seductress at times wife could not be fooled. She has long understood she would never make it onto the podium of her husband’s desires. Until that day when she changed her perfume for an unsettling beastly scent that on her skin literally gave off the smell and warmth of a stable. That of the mare’s coat. She was bewildered by the smell at first, but she got used to it quickly. As a matter of fact, this awoke in her husband, a sudden and insatiable desire for her, bestowing her with a new lease on life. She never would have thought she could get everything she had been longing for so long - outright from a bottled scent. For years she played the bitter shrew, and next you know, she was reliving her sweet sixteen all over again. A miracle of olfactive desire that subtly exuded the relief and release of simmering ardours.
Cocaine Wig
He has not chosen to live in Versailles. But without money he had no choice other than to move into an apartment inherited from his grandfather. He was too lazy to empty it, to resell it and to live elsewhere. What an unpleasant surprise it was when he had not calculated that now all his debts had tracked him down and demanded every weeks with letters to be settled. The idea to get out of it came to him as evidence - Versailles is not festive. He could spice it all up by selling drugs. Rumours spread quickly for those interested. Easily recognizable, he strolled around Versailles in a court nobleman’s outfit which he had stolen to compensate for the €40 for a day’s work in a film. The ruse worked wonderfully. Tourists took photos with him and those informed whispered their order by inviting him to take a selfie. His court consisted of regulars who had the advantage of knowing how he powdered himself. As they greeted him, all they had to do was take a deep breath into his wig and the dose of booster was ingested. Despite his quickly settled debts, he did not leave Versailles. He reigned supreme there. White powder frivolity again found home in Versailles.
He has not chosen to live in Versailles. But without money he had no choice other than to move into an apartment inherited from his grandfather. He was too lazy to empty it, to resell it and to live elsewhere. What an unpleasant surprise it was when he had not calculated that now all his debts had tracked him down and demanded every weeks with letters to be settled. The idea to get out of it came to him as evidence - Versailles is not festive. He could spice it all up by selling drugs. Rumours spread quickly for those interested. Easily recognizable, he strolled around Versailles in a court nobleman’s outfit which he had stolen to compensate for the €40 for a day’s work in a film. The ruse worked wonderfully. Tourists took photos with him and those informed whispered their order by inviting him to take a selfie. His court consisted of regulars who had the advantage of knowing how he powdered himself. As they greeted him, all they had to do was take a deep breath into his wig and the dose of booster was ingested. Despite his quickly settled debts, he did not leave Versailles. He reigned supreme there. White powder frivolity again found home in Versailles.
Spell F-O-R-T-U-N-E Out
She was fluent in several languages, yet all of her life she claimed to have difficulty with numbers, deeming it sufficient to know those from 1 to 10. But managing her fortune made her deal with numbers on a daily basis. And so, every single time, to communicate a number she had to pronounce the digits one by one to dial them in. It often took a while and every day she wasted time on that. But that was not a problem for her. On the contrary she found it pleasant as she enjoyed the rhythmic sound of the chained and repeated sequence of ‘zeros’. She even ended up adopting this dalliance as her own personal tongue. Some may call it an obsessive-compulsive disorder but for her it was the secret of her longevity.
She was fluent in several languages, yet all of her life she claimed to have difficulty with numbers, deeming it sufficient to know those from 1 to 10. But managing her fortune made her deal with numbers on a daily basis. And so, every single time, to communicate a number she had to pronounce the digits one by one to dial them in. It often took a while and every day she wasted time on that. But that was not a problem for her. On the contrary she found it pleasant as she enjoyed the rhythmic sound of the chained and repeated sequence of ‘zeros’. She even ended up adopting this dalliance as her own personal tongue. Some may call it an obsessive-compulsive disorder but for her it was the secret of her longevity.
series of AI-generated portraits digitally printed on ceramic plates
each character is accompanied by a short story written by mathieu trevisan
original language: french
english: translated by olfa alouini
english: translated by olfa alouini
Uhrformen
25.05.2022 - 30.05.2022
Sarabande Foundation est. by Lee Alexander McQueen
22 Hertford Rd
London N1 5SH
UK
25.05.2022 - 30.05.2022
Sarabande Foundation est. by Lee Alexander McQueen
22 Hertford Rd
London N1 5SH
UK
article
A chronologically promiscuous bog
‘Uhrformen’, a group show curated by Sarabande residents Marta Klara and Louis Alderson-Bythell and Sarabande Alumnus Leo Carlton. Uhrformen welcomes you to consider the cadence between Geological, Biological and Digital time through a constellation of VR experience, Meditative space and Living Artefact.
Marta Klara continues to explore rituals of passage. She focuses on funeral ones that may become necessary as we bridge further between the physical and the digital world. The artist undertakes an experiment of digital mummification as a new path of preservation of human traces.
LAB presents primitive tools, enlivened with extreme microbial life to consider how our technologies not only extend our reach but also the reach of non-human life.
Leo creates space for metaphysical contemplation, where we meditate in singularity with our avatar as one multidimensional being.
Entertain these questions as you are enveloped and preserved by the air in the space, a concoction of embalming volatiles used to mummify Cleopatra (Frankincense Olibanum, Cashmeran, Ambergris, Benzoin, Sacrum (Mirrah), Animalis, Saffran, Mango, Pink Pepper and Ivy) created with Kasia Korytowska. These works exist at distinct chronological timbres. Interacting with one another and transfigured to the human scale through soundscape by Anna Lann.
Through these works, consider :
What rots in the digital and what is preserved?
Will our tools outlive us and what other species will they sustain?
Will living cells merge with bytes?
Would our digital selves have a second life after we are gone?
And if a digital tree falls in a physical forest, who dies under it?
Yours Eternally,
Marta Klara, Louis and Leo
‘Uhrformen’, a group show curated by Sarabande residents Marta Klara and Louis Alderson-Bythell and Sarabande Alumnus Leo Carlton. Uhrformen welcomes you to consider the cadence between Geological, Biological and Digital time through a constellation of VR experience, Meditative space and Living Artefact.
Marta Klara continues to explore rituals of passage. She focuses on funeral ones that may become necessary as we bridge further between the physical and the digital world. The artist undertakes an experiment of digital mummification as a new path of preservation of human traces.
LAB presents primitive tools, enlivened with extreme microbial life to consider how our technologies not only extend our reach but also the reach of non-human life.
Leo creates space for metaphysical contemplation, where we meditate in singularity with our avatar as one multidimensional being.
Entertain these questions as you are enveloped and preserved by the air in the space, a concoction of embalming volatiles used to mummify Cleopatra (Frankincense Olibanum, Cashmeran, Ambergris, Benzoin, Sacrum (Mirrah), Animalis, Saffran, Mango, Pink Pepper and Ivy) created with Kasia Korytowska. These works exist at distinct chronological timbres. Interacting with one another and transfigured to the human scale through soundscape by Anna Lann.
Through these works, consider :
What rots in the digital and what is preserved?
Will our tools outlive us and what other species will they sustain?
Will living cells merge with bytes?
Would our digital selves have a second life after we are gone?
And if a digital tree falls in a physical forest, who dies under it?
Yours Eternally,
Marta Klara, Louis and Leo
Sarcophagus
papier-mâché, aluminium, acrylic paint, resin, cement, salt
2.4 m
2022
papier-mâché, aluminium, acrylic paint, resin, cement, salt
2.4 m
2022
LONDON GRADS NOW.21
4.11.2021 - 16.01.2022
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd
London SW3 4RY
UK
website
4.11.2021 - 16.01.2022
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd
London SW3 4RY
UK
website
‘Totems: Marble Triptych’ 3/3
papier-mâché, aluminium, acrylic paint, resin, wheat
1.9 m
2021
1.9 m
2021
London Grads Now. 21 is a wonderful world of stranger things, both reflecting on the pandemic & rising above it.
Ruth Millington, art historian, critic & author
Ruth Millington, art historian, critic & author
sculptures
clay, resin, metal, spray paint
clay, resin, metal, spray paint
fig. 1. 16 cm x 26 cm
fig. 2. 22 cm x 38 cm
fig. 3. 22 cm x 29 cm
fig. 2. 22 cm x 38 cm
fig. 3. 22 cm x 29 cm
fig. 4. 10 cm x 16 cm
fig. 5. 13 cm x 29 cm
fig. 6. 16 cm x 26 cm
fig. 5. 13 cm x 29 cm
fig. 6. 16 cm x 26 cm
fig. 7. 15 cm x 27 cm
fig. 8. 11 cm x 25 cm
fig. 9. 19 cm x 22 cm
fig. 8. 11 cm x 25 cm
fig. 9. 19 cm x 22 cm
fig. 10. 13 cm x 13 cm
fig. 11. 13 cm x 23 cm
fig. 12. 12 cm x 14 cm
fig. 11. 13 cm x 23 cm
fig. 12. 12 cm x 14 cm
fig. 13. 18 cm x 23 cm
fig. 14. 13 cm x 25 cm
fig. 15. 15 cm x 23 cm
fig. 14. 13 cm x 25 cm
fig. 15. 15 cm x 23 cm
fig. 16. 27 cm x 22 cm
fig. 17. 24 cm x 27 cm
fig. 17. 24 cm x 27 cm
fig. 18. 15 cm x 19 cm
fig. 19. 15 cm x 20 cm
fig. 20. 11 cm x 21 cm
fig. 19. 15 cm x 20 cm
fig. 20. 11 cm x 21 cm
fig. 21. 17 cm x 32 cm
fig. 22. 19 cm x 30 cm
fig. 22. 19 cm x 30 cm
fig. 23. 12 cm x 13 cm
fig. 24. 11 cm x 13 cm
fig. 25. 12 cm x 11 cm
fig. 24. 11 cm x 13 cm
fig. 25. 12 cm x 11 cm
fig. 26. 11 cm x 21 cm
fig. 27. 13 cm x 22 cm
fig. 27. 13 cm x 22 cm
fig. 28. 25 cm x 60 cm