I Tasted It Before I Felt It The top corner of a room. The ceiling is concrete, the left-hand wall is all windows, with a sheer white curtain covering them from the top, but see-through enough to share the darkness outside. The right-hand wall is plain white with a square mirror almost meeting the other wall, which we can just see the top of, reflecting the curtains back. We can also just about see the reflection of the opposite corner which looks very far away from us because of its doubled distance. There the curtains meet the opposite wall, and a steel extraction unit is fixed in the corner. But there is something else here. A bright blur flickers across the ceiling and curtains: something in between reflected ripples and suspended fire, it holds an active and ghostly presence. Hovering, and burning without heat.

Insomnia

Leah Clements

Category:

Description

I Tasted It Before I Felt It The top corner of a room. The ceiling is concrete, the left-hand wall is all windows, with a sheer white curtain covering them from the top, but see-through enough to share the darkness outside. The right-hand wall is plain white with a square mirror almost meeting the other wall, which we can just see the top of, reflecting the curtains back. We can also just about see the reflection of the opposite corner which looks very far away from us because of its doubled distance. There the curtains meet the opposite wall, and a steel extraction unit is fixed in the corner. But there is something else here. A bright blur flickers across the ceiling and curtains: something in between reflected ripples and suspended fire, it holds an active and ghostly presence. Hovering, and burning without heat.

Chateau International is pleased to partner with South Kiosk and curator Mariana Lemos to present INSOMNIA, a public programme aligned with the solo exhibition of the same name by artist Leah Clements. INSOMNIA will be Clements’ first exhibition of photographic work, looking into the emotional and psychological effects of insomnia-related sleep phenomena and sleep paralysis, through ambiguous, grainy and in-depth photographs, accompanied by vocalised image descriptions.

Clements’ work often suggests this otherworldly space as a collective alternative to that of the present sick body. In INSOMNIA this is further explored through integrating creative access adjustments into the artwork, the exhibition-making process and the public programme.

In an attempt to democratise access to situated programming and provide a lasting resource that extends beyond the duration and context of the exhibition, the Chateau International website will host a record of each public event across a range of media, cultivating a chorus of additional voices and aligned narratives. The partnership will culminate in a printed publication, forthcoming in 2023.

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Outside of Time, Another Place: Leah Clements & Jamila Prowse Mutual Interview

In this recorded video conversation between artist, writer, and researcher Jamila Prowse and artist Leah Clements, the pair draw out themes in each others’ work, and find overlaps in their practices: both forged in the ‘other place’ of crip time.

This video is BSL interpreted. The speakers will self-describe and will describe any visual information shared throughout. Fully-edited captions will be available with the archived version of this video.

Don’t Breathe A figure in the distance, piercing through the darkness that surrounds us. The figure is far away - through two open sets of doors in the centre of our line of sight, at the end of a series of empty rooms. The room we're in is domestic but dark. Plants, a computer, and a table are just visible in the gloomy night; concrete pillars in the greenish gloam outside the window on the right. The black static inside this room is subtly charged. And all that way away, through the empty rooms and their long shiny wooden floor, a spangling gold light from a source unknown shines on the figure. They’re dressed in black, standing tall with their body facing the left, where the golden light is radiating from, where we can’t see, but turning their hooded head slightly towards us. Their arms hang, not without tension, at their sides, and one of their hands is glowing with such a bright light, it glows in a stream across the floor towards us. We can't distinguish their face, but we know they're about to look at us. A promise or a threat, something is about to happen. We will be seen. Our presence is known.

Exhibition
South Kiosk
Unit DG.1, Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, London SE15 4ST
02.12.22-29.01.23
Thursday-Sunday, 12-6pm
Preview: Thursday 01.12.22, 6.30-8.30pm

Click here for the Public Programme

Click here for the Exhibition Text 

Click here for the Plain Language Exhibition Text 

Click here for the Exhibition Audio Transcript 

ACCESS:
South Kiosk is wheelchair accessible by a ramp. The closest train station is Peckham Rye, which is a 3 minute walk from the gallery at a google map ‘walk’ pace. The station doesn’t have wheelchair access. The closest bus stop is just outside Peckham Rye station. Chairs with backs, as well as softer seating, will be available. An audio track describing the photographic work is part of the exhibition, all attendees will have a chance to hear this. For any further questions about access please contact info.southkiosk@gmail.com