Resonance Perception: Converging Paths, Shared Visions is an exhibition that explores how art connects with your senses, while also reflecting broader cultural and individual contexts. Create a dialogue in a space where diverse artistic journeys come together.
Each artwork-whether in textile, animation, illustration, or painting-invites you to look beyond the surface and engage in a conversation that goes deeper than mere observation. This show reveals how artists are inspired by each other, their environments, and their personal experiences to create pieces that resonate with creativity, identity, and perception. In this vibrant community, the varied artistic paths of the creators intersect not only with each other but also with you, the viewer. You’re invited to explore how these diverse perspectives combine to form a rich tapestry of shared stories and experiences. This show is a shared space where art provokes thought, sparks conversation, and leaves a lasting impact. As you move through the ‘Studio18’, let the artworks challenge you, inspire you, and connect with your own journey, intertwining with the collective creativity on display.
Afterwalls: Of the Panopticon and Its Ruins, a group exhibition held at Millbank, London, successfully concluded after showcasing the works of 15 artists from the University of the Arts London (UAL). Spanning from August 14th to 16th, 2024, this exhibition offered an in-depth exploration of the intricate power dynamics between artists and the institutions that both shape and regulate their creative practices.
In modern society, art institutions such as museums, galleries and art schools have played a crucial role in shaping the art world. They have been critiqued for solidifying the hierarchical power systems in society by absorbing avant-garde movements into mainstream culture and rejecting the diversity of artists’ discourses. Institutions are found to be becoming more exclusive and untrustworthy. The art institution’s power is not just about dominating the culture; it also mirrors the panopticon in that it holds the disciplinary power which subtly regulates artists’ notions, behaviours and identities through normalisation and surveillance. On the other hand, the art institution provides artists with the space and resources to conduct their practice. Their interdependent relationship generates a controlled but productive environment for creating and disseminating art. Afterwalls invites visitors to reconsider the relationship between the individual and the institution beyond the dichotomy of dominance and resistance and how it contributes to shaping the art world in the future.
There has yet to be a perfect physical realisation of Bentham’s concept. As one of Bentham’s legacies, Millbank Penitentiary heavily reflected his original design. The uncertainty of surveillance would lead prisoners to unconsciously regulate their behaviours and internalise the facility’s discipline. In the late 20th century, inspired by this phenomenon, Michel Foucault reinterpreted the concept of the panopticon as a metaphor for understanding the subtle and pervasive control of the institution in modern society.
The panopticon is an institutional building type initially proposed and designed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. In his design, the architecture consists of a circular prison with a central tower for surveillance. Such a structure allows one or a few supervisors to observe all inmates living in each cell of the facility without being seen and constantly communicate with them, creating a highly efficient prison system.
In response to these histories and the physical structure of the panopticon,11 UAL alumni and 4 residents from the Millbank Summer Residency are invited to present their diverse perspectives on institutional power in Afterwalls. The featured artists employ a variety of materials and techniques to articulate their interactions with internal and external forms of discipline, such as the use of visual illusions to highlight surveillance in daily life, critiquing self-regulation and reevaluating their engagement with the art educational system.
The exhibition Afterwalls: Of the Panopticon and Its Ruins is curated by Catherine Li, Yaqi Liang, Wanjing Lin and Charmaine Wah.
Text by
Yaqi Liang
Edited by
Charmaine Wah
Lead Curator
Catherine Li
Curators
Charmaine Wah
Yaqi Liang
Wanjing Lin
Photographer
Dennis Ngan
Producer
Calie Calatayud
Production Assistant
Martha Short
Exhibition Build Technicians
Lenny Terrones-Huet
Sam Hewland
Jamie Measure-Hughes
George Hill-Baker
Special Thanks
Ian Monroe – MA Fine Art Course Leader
Lynton Talbot – MA Curating and Collections Senior Lecturer
Matthew Evans – Projects and Showcase Build and Logistics Manager
The group exhibition Interwoven Relationships brings together artists from Fine Art Computational Arts and Photography at Camberwell College of Arts, aiming to reconfigure our relationship to nature, society, family and ourselves by presenting observations and reflections on landscapes that we take for granted or unnoticed. The exhibited works guide us through a journey from the material world to the spiritual realm, from ancient records to modern technology, and from intimate connections to social structures. In the fast-paced and fragmented urban life, the exhibition reminds us to slow down and attentively observe the moments of dissonance, uncertainty, or small surprises in our everyday lives and encourages alternative attitudes on personal and collective experiences, as well as cultural and societal issues.
At the very end point in the final year of our graphic design degree, we are beginning to feel the universal panic, stress and confusion at what comes next. How do we go about getting a job? Who is going to hire us? Do we even know what we want to do? How do we get there?
It feels daunting and impossible to break into the creative industry. Despite loving our course and working so hard for the past three or four years it still feels like an unfeasible task. This is something we find ourselves constantly discussing with friends and peers as we reach this crossroads in our lives.
This exhibition ‘Not My Circus Not My Monkeys’ aims to create a space to capture this shared feeling whilst giving a platform to a group of ten talented emerging artists. Working together and discussing our worries, fears and problems means we can begin to face our creative industry, break through and begin to change it together.
Alice & Ellie
Featuring work from Bella Jordan Armstrong, Charlotte Brown, Frederica Marlow, Joe Jacobs, Jonah Rose, June Chan, Ned Collyer, Oliver Mansell, Ollie Norris and Sophie Adelaide.
This exhibition delves into the delicate balance between realms, where boundaries blur and transitions occur. Inspired by the Japanese concept of komorebi, where light filters through trees, we invite you to navigate through the dappled spaces of consciousness. Through artworks that capture the essence of lucidity and in-between states, we delve into the fluidity of existence. Join us on a metaphorical journey where reflections shimmer, boundaries dissolve, and the unseen become tangible.
Furthermore, in exploring the themes of fluidity and liminal realities, we aim to engage with the complexities of queer identities and experiences. Queer theory often challenges binary understandings of gender and sexuality, emphasising the fluidity and complexity inherent in these aspects of human identity. By embracing the concept of ‘liminal entities’, we seek to create a space where individuals can explore the intersections between different identities and occupy spaces that defy traditional categorisations. Through this exploration, we hope to foster dialogue and reflection on the fluid nature of existence and the diverse experiences that shape our understanding of self and society.
Indigestion isn’t just about food. It’s about how we absorb life. From infancy, we take in the world around us, forming a sense of self that’s influenced by society’s mirror. As we grow, we navigate the symbolic norms that define us, questioning and digesting new ideas. ‘Cultural indigestion’ can happen when our personal beliefs clash with social expectations, leading to moments of discomfort or enlightenment. It’s not just about fitting in; it’s about understanding our place in the world and how we hold the new and unfamiliar, attuned to its feeling. This exhibition invites you to resist easy consumption; the idea that indigestion is more than a physical reaction—it’s a way to sustain a more complex relationship with the world.
OFFICE MASTER is an exhibition initiated by Fine Art students from Chelsea College of Art and organized in collaboration with young artists from various art schools across London area, including Slade School of Art, Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths University and Chelsea College of Art. The artworks of nine groups of participating artists will be on display for 7 days at studio 18 in Millbank. The exhibition will feature various forms of art, including performance, video, installation, and sculpture. Through these mediums, the artists will explore their personal interpretations of the ‘demons’ that consume us in the office by delving into key aspects such as identity, culture, religion, spirituality, and pain. While the term OFFICE MASTER, 办公室恶魔（means ‘Demons/bad/evil in the office’ in Chinese), seems to carry a negative connotation, discussions regarding office environments, encompassing both favorable and unfavorable viewpoints, echo the intricate and diverse nature of human identity. We believe that the office environment often stifles individuality while promoting a collective culture. As artists, we are captivated by the imagination of individuals wearing uniforms within the office setting, where conformity to prescribed rules conceals true selves.
A multidisciplinary and inter-academic exhibition that showcases an artistic panorama of sexual dissidence in the world today, through the work of artists and historians from 13 countries.
Sexual Dissidence (in Art Today) is a multidisciplinary and inter-academic exhibition that showcases an artistic panorama of sexual dissidence in the world today, through the work of artists and historians from 13 countries. The curatorial process began by asking each artist to express their vision of sexual dissidence in their country today, through a new or existing work. Students published their creations on a specially built Notion and decided together how these visions will coexist in the exhibition space. After the exhibition, the exhibited works will be published in a printed and digital book that will be distributed among the libraries of the collaborating institutions.
This initiative will showcase the work of MAFA and MACC students from UAL, which will be analyzed by MACA students from Sotheby’s Institute. It will also showcase the work of the Brazilian academic from the University of Brasília, Doctor Orthof, and the artists Theo Vasiludes and Niv Friedman from the Royal College of Arts. The idea is to reflect the diversity of sexual dissidence, through the diversity in the curation of the exhibition, showing works in video, photography, installations, sculptures, and performance by queer artists from 21 to 60 years old, from students to international academics, from 4 universities and 11 different countries.
1st year BA Photography students at Camberwell College of Art tried their hand at curation in Studio 18, as part of their ongoing professional practice development. The workshop began with a group discussion, during which students discussed the thematic and pragmatic elements of curating an exhibition. They reflected on how to bring about a conversation between artworks, with practical considerations regarding space, as well as the arrangement of artworks, in mind. Students then worked together to install 6 mini exhibitions practically.
The workshop culminated in the group curating and installing an exhibition of their own works, this time referring to thematic principles.
A collective exhibition by Camberwell students of varying artistic disciplines.
Caitlin Deiter, Grace Shiels, Lilian Wuerth, Marcie Bradley-Green and Ngai Ning Yu curate “The Essence Of Being”. A collective exhibition exploring what remains throughout life and death, memory and imagination.
