It is Summer 2024 and I take a visit to the Being Human exhibition on view at the Wellcome Collection, Euston. Up to this point, I’d ride by and the placements of neon lights outside caught my attention especially by night whilst the banners drew my eyes by day.
A lifesize model representation of artist, Jason Wilsher-Mills is on display. He incorporates features of the collection seen around the space. What resonated most with him, he would magnify and print upon the model’s exterior to be seen on a much bigger scale. These big images connect his story of living with physical disability to memories most of spending most of his childhood in hospital and suffering ailments. He led with an extraordinary set of ideas to design his artwork. It is deeply connected to the human experience.
What was a visit to the collection to see events and material for SEND education turns into a search for all manner of ideas.
In Being Human, there is a clear focus on markmaking. I take a look at a particular material: such has the shape of an imprinted modelling block; like memory foam or the texture of skin. There’s a installlaton of blocks on a centrepiece- each one indicating the skin’s health. Walking around the blocks, I see that there are imprints on them: they represent affected areas of skin; indicating an attack on the body’s immune system and abnormal skin cell growth.
Other sensory features of the exhibit take its focus from nostalgia. There are sociological experiments and pieces of self documentation. There are audio accounts of individuals speaking on the humanity of disability, welfare, digital footprints and migration. I’m reminded of the artist, Jesse Stecklow’s air samples to determine the presence of ethanol and similar compounds found in corn, He displayed at Frieze Art Fair London in October 2022 for Sweetwater. His very practice of recording and tracking was to explore literary expressions, idiomatic references to ears of corn by setting motorised devices in corn, they are placed atop two boxes with fine art sketches of human ears. He titled the piece ‘Ear Wigglers’ (2016).
From my recollection, The Refugee Astronaut is a classic piece of modern history and it is by artist, Yinka Shonibare. I enjoyed the way the messages were curated, a poster in the background stated ‘WATER IS LIFE’ while a scene of a floating place of worship can be seen photographed on the wall. A digital animation was projected onto one of the exhibition walls. It is visual representation of the coming of decay and disease into nature.
The themes struck a balance between shock value and silent activism. It gauged the instinct to interact and to stand back at points. These compositions seem to call to mind traditions and the fragments left of it. These give the stories of diasporic community an intense focus, with materials arrayed in dutch wax prints, designed by West and Central African artisans. The astronaut carried books, glass bottles, a wooden stool amongst other items that signal descendency from a cross-cultural community. The refugee astronaut is put up to reflect the conversations of cross continental migrants who meet at the intersection between supply and adaptation. What I perceive from this astronaut’s ‘step’ is that breaking away from home means navigating a world concerned about climate change, tackling defecit and restoring health. Race is unpacked looking at the concept of the human race; the questions of democracy and diversity amongst people. the space race comes to mind, in relation to recent times speaking on biodiversity, access and ideas of ‘exploration.’ It seems that the major focus is beyond the planet earth.
Ola.