London-based arts organisation ArtAngel announced today that multidisciplinary artist Taryn Simon will bring her 2016 work An Occupation of Loss to London this April.
Originally staged at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, the project saw Simon bring professional mourners from some 30 countries to enact their native rites of grief and lamentation, many of which date back to pre-Christian and pre-Islamic eras. Every night for a week, the mourners would perform within a series of 11 concrete towers, created in collaboration with OMA. In typically meticulous fashion, Simon also documented the process of research, arranging appropriate visas for the performers to enter the United States, and rehearsal in a monograph, published by Hatje Cantz the following year.
The specifics of the London iteration remain shrouded in mystery. The venue has been announced as ‘a cavernous undiscovered space beneath Islington Green’, with the artist declining to release exact details or architectural photography ahead of time, so as to preserve an element of surprise for the first visitors. In lieu of the OMA towers, Simon is designing a series of sculptures to house the mourners, who hail from 11 countries including Azerbaijan, China, Russia and Venezuela.
Promised recitations include Albanian laments that excavate ‘uncried words’; Venezuelan rituals to safeguard the passage of the soul to the Milky Way Greek laments that weave together stories of life and afterlife and Yezidi performances that recount experiences of exile and displacement. ‘Loss yields an emotional space and a vulnerability in which individuals seem to operate without artifice,’ says the artist and erstwhile Wallpaper* Guest Editor (W*163).
‘I want to look at the potential of this space, and the mechanics of it – even the ways it can be programmed or performed.’ She adds that the project is about ‘how we mourn individually, nationally, globally – how organized religion, government or civic leadership guides and shapes mourning and how citizens are mobilized in those moments of loss.’
The London performance is a homecoming of sorts, seeing as the project began as a conversation between Simon and ArtAngel co-director Michael Morris in the British capital six years ago. ‘The enactment of mourning in this ambitious new work for London sees Simon turn a found site into a sonic instrument for the performance of grief, measuring losses beyond language,’ says Morris. In a country currently beset by social fracture and political uncertainty, the anxiety and catharsis of An Occupation of Loss will no doubt resonate.
Behind the scenes at Simon’s New York performance at Park Avenue Armory. Courtesy of the artist
Behind the scenes at Simon’s New York performance at Park Avenue Armory. Courtesy of the artist
Behind the scenes at Simon’s New York performance at Park Avenue Armory. Courtesy of the artist
Behind the scenes at Simon’s New York performance at Park Avenue Armory. Courtesy of the artist
Behind the scenes at Simon’s New York performance at Park Avenue Armory. Courtesy of the artist
INFORMATION
An Occupation of Loss will be on view 17 – 28 April. Entrance on Essex Road at the corner of Islington Green, London. Tickets are available through ArtAngel
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
Doc'n Roll Film Festival makes its loud return to the UKThe 11th edition of the Doc'n Roll Film Festival celebrates music, culture and cinema from around the world
-
Preview the Jameel Prize exhibition, coming to London's V&A, with a focus on moving image and digital mediaThe winner of the V&A and Art Jameel’s seventh international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition will be showcased alongside shortlisted artists
-
Genesis Belanger is seduced by the real and the fake in LondonSculptor Genesis Belanger’s solo show, ‘In the Right Conditions We Are Indistinguishable’, is open at Pace, London
-
Francis Bacon at the National Portrait Gallery is an emotional tour de force‘Francis Bacon: Human Presence’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London puts the spotlight on Bacon's portraiture
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Meet Oluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, the founders creating a new art communityOluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, are behind Piece Unique, an artist agency that guides and future-proofs emerging artists’ careers
-
Don’t miss these artists at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2024As the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to London (10-13 October 2024), here are the artists to see
-
Es Devlin’s large-scale choral installation celebrates London’s displaced populationEs Devlin has partnered with UK for UNHCR on a free and open-to-all exhibition, ‘Congregation’, in London from 3-9 October 2024
