The Universe Within
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The Universe Within​
19th - 22nd Sept 2024
Copeland Gallery, Unit 9, Copeland Park, 133 Copeland Rd, Peckham, London SE15 3SN
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About the Exhibition:
A mixed-media exhibition, featuring 27 contemporary artists, curated by Latifah A Stranack, this exhibition delved into our relationship with our bodies and the world within and around us, from spiritual, scientific, poetic, or metaphorical perspectives.
Inspired by Edvard Munch's words, "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow, and I am in them, and that is eternity," the exhibition offered a deep exploration of memory, metamorphosis, healing, nature, and the cosmos. It provided a compelling reflection on the experience of being alive today.
At the private view event there was an exceptional one-off dance performance by the talented Stephanie Burrell and Rachel Laird.
Their performance was inspired by themes relating to identity, connection, and rebirth and was accompanied by live music from Rihab Azar and Shri Sritam, who performed a piece called San, Roots and Blossoms by Rihab Azar written for the exhibition.
On the final day of the show Katherine Smith performed their participatory work - 8 Actions with Tins, a sonic intervention.
A series of pre-show interviews with the artists can be found using this link: https://substack.com/@latifahastranack
Featured artists:
Charlie Fitz
Fahiem Abdullah
Azeri Aghayeva
leva Ansaberga
Safiya Arts
Philippa Ashcroft
Latifah A Stranack
Veronika Shmorhun
Katherine Smith
Sumayyah
Safira Taylor
Henryk Terpilowski
My Contribution:
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As one of the exhibiting artists, I created an installation, which I have since titled, Close To Death, of oil paintings, shrines and hand written notes displayed on the wall as a three dimensional scrapbook, which explored:
- illness
- medical trauma
- preparing for & becoming close with my own death
- the role water plays in my recovery & care practice
- living on in my new embodiment
Close To Death
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6
3
1
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12
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7
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9
Titles, descriptions & text:​
1. Hand written note, which reads:
"I have a genetic condition which causes the connective tissue throughout my body to be fragile and prone to failing. There were signs throughout my entire life, however, they went mostly unnoticed until my twenties, when my condition became life-threatening.
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My spine was slowly collapsing, affecting my organs, my stomach was paralysed, I was losing lower body function, I was told by medical professionals that “it was all in my head” and offered little support whilst slowly starving. I did my own research, discovered my own diagnosis, and fundraised for appropriate medical support, including two spine surgeries in Barcelona which saved, extended and improved my life.
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After my first surgery, we named my surgical scar Scarlett. My partner (Oscar Vinter) & I even celebrate her birthday - my rebirth day."​
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​2. The birth of Scarlett, 2024, Oil on canvas, 50.8cm width x 76cm height x 1.7cm depth
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3. Hand written note, which reads:
"My memory from the last decade is fragmented by the trauma of illness, the trauma of not being believed, and adjusting to my new embodiment and crip reality. I create work to explore these experiences, me evolving identity and my relationship to my environment. An environment that is often hostile to my sick & disabled "bodymind".
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When I submerge myself in bath water the pain of gravity is reduced.
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Oscar & I document our life through art and use polaroids to help me remember & to claim power, autonomy and ownership over our narratives."
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4. Bathwater Shrine - the shrine is made with cardboard, papier-mâché, air-dry clay, acrylic paint and also paper clay which I created using my own medical paperwork. The Bathwater shrine has a polaroid placed within it taken of me by Oscar Vinter my partner whilst I am in the bath. The photo was taken at an early stage in my illness, when I was very unwell but still had very little support and a very poor understanding of what was causing me to be so unwell.
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5. Buoyancy, 2023, Oil on canvas, 120cm width 91cm height x 1.7cm depth
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6. Titanium Crickets, Oil on canvas, 50.8cm width x 76cm height x 1.7cm depth
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7. Swimming Pool Shrine - the shrine is made with cardboard, papier-mâché, air-dry clay, acrylic paint and also paper clay which I created using my own medical paperwork. Inside the shrine is a mixed media collage using a layer of oil paint on paper, a photography of me floating in a swimming pool and a top layer of sheer fabric with water printed on it. The photo was taken by my partner Oscar Vinter in the recovery months following my first neurosurgery in Barcelona in 2019.
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8. Three hand written note, which read:
"Several weeks after my first neurosurgery, each day, for months I floated in a swimming pool, on my back, in near stillness.
Is it unusual to stay buoyant without moving your limbs and with that much metal in your neck?"
"My spine doesn’t crush or grind on the water, I almost forget I have a spine until I hear the crickets whispering behind my ear. The surgeon tells me not to worry about the noise ‘it’s the screws in your neck settling in’. I want them to feel at home, welcome, these titanium crickets holding the metal rods and skull in place."
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"Due to the seriousness of my spine instability, before my first neurosurgery I was told to make preparations in the event of my death; write a will and statement of wishes, say everything I wanted to friends and family. I created a folder that outlined everything my family would need to do in the event of my death abroad. I asked to be cremated and for my ashes to be scattered into the sea. I prepared myself to die. I became close with my own death."
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9. The Instant of My Own Death, 2024, Oil on canvas, 61cm width x 91cm height x 1.7cm depth
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10. Hospital Shrine - the shrine is made with cardboard, papier-mâché, air-dry clay, acrylic paint and also paper clay which I created using my own medical paperwork. The Hospital Shrine is lined with the fabric of a hospital patient gown, on top of the fabric there is a polaroid taken by my partner Oscar Vinter during my second neurosurgery in Barcelona in 2022. I asked my partner to take these photos so I could commit these moments to memory and feel some autonomy over my experiences, as being in hospital can often make you feel powerless, as you surrender your body and your fate over to medical professionals.
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11. Hand written note, which reads:
"People often assume that before neurosurgery I would have been nervous or scared, but the day before, the night before, the minutes before and even the seconds before I was calm and present. I focused on the people around me. I enjoyed my partner’s company. I watched the doctors with their colourful scrub caps floating around from bed to bed as I waited in the pre-op room. I knew I had done everything within my power to prepare and the rest was out of my hands. I felt at peace. I was not worried about the future, I was not thinking about all the things I wanted to do, I did not feel responsible for anything. I cannot remember feeling that calm, free or present before or since. I did not want to die but I had accepted that I might and instead of worrying I just closely observed everything and was completely present in what I thought were possibly the last things I would ever experience.
Yours,
Charlie Fitz"
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12. Statement of Wishes, 2024, Oil on canvas, 70cm width x 100cm height x 3.7cm depth
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​​13. Hand written note, which reads:
"I have become close with and made peace with my own death - I am still working at finding peace with my life."​​
The curator of the exhibition Latifah A Stranack talks with artist Charlie Fitz about her artwork, in an impromptu artist/curator talk.
(subtitles available)
A brief visual tour of the show
Photos from the exhibition