Archive 2008

Maria Kheirkhah The Psychology of Fear

13 June– 15 August 2008
Opening 12 June 2008, 6:30 – 9:30pm at 198

A series of talks and events will accompany the exhibition:
25 June 2008, 7:00 pm - Panel discussion with Oreet Ashery, Matia Kheirkhah and Keith Piper
28 July 2008, 7:00 pm - Film Screening of Frankenstein by James Whale, 1931`

PP Why The Psychology of Fear?
MK An intense climate of fear is all around us. We are constantly being told to be suspicious. We are afraid to go on trains and planes, because of daily news continuously reporting on terror. That word is embodied in our conscious as we
hear it every single day in one way or another. So I guess for me the question is, why is there such a climate? Who are we supposed to be afraid of?

PP Do you know the answers?
MK I am not sure if I want to provide answers to these questions. Perhaps I don’t know the answers myself, so I question. I am embarking here on difficult issues in order to initiate a debate so that the beast in all its entirety and complexity is comprehended and put to rest. I want to dissect each part of it. I want to understand it. My ongoing project The Anatomy of Ignorance is all about that.

Through conceptually abstract work I often investigate intricate cultural and historical analogs, as well as realities in my contemporary social and political context. I question history. I inquire into historical particulars. What are the
motivations here? I am seeking to understand the language, which is spoken to me. If one understands one does not fear.

PP In your new body of work you talk about the monster. Please explain.
MK I have decided to work with the idea of Frankenstein as the monster, drawing parallels with what is presently the subject and object of fear (the Islamic bodies and regions where they are located: the Middle East, Asia and parts of
Africa), with the Middle East being the epicenter of it and the Muslim body being animated as the beast, primarily within a Western context. This object of fear I represent as the monster, the beast, constructed of different body parts,
unpleasant and to be feared by the masses.

To me The Anatomy of Fear is about the apprehension of any other. In the past the others were the Jews, the blacks and now Muslims. Who will be next?

PP Where does Kheirkhah name come from? Do you consider yourself as "the other"?
MK I am Iranian. Kheirkhah is an Iranian name; you may also refer to it as a Muslim name. Do I consider myself as "the other"? I was born and brought up in Iran and then came to study in the UK in late 70’s. Since then I move back and
forth between Iran and the UK. I am very familiar with my own complexities and myself as a being so I don't consider myself as "the other". But then again it all depends on the company I am in. I could feel as "the other" at times.

DIFFERENT ENDZ

25 April – 31 May 2008

Different Endz is the first youth exhibition at 198 since its recent re brand from Urban Vision, displaying the works of young people who have participated throughout the year. These projects have encouraged participants in creating interactive websites and designing fashion accessories around issues of identity and heritage, while reflecting on their lives in a multicultural society.

Graphic design and photographic campaigns against crime have been used as a platform for young people to express their concerns and views. The exhibition will showcase recent work on guns and gang activity which invited young people to make representations of their own landscapes of risk and danger.

A selection of artworks, created for the Four Corners Project at the National Portrait Gallery will also be shown which celebrate London’s richness from the perspective of young people living in Lambeth.

A series of talks and events will accompany the exhibition:

Moral Panics and Resistance through art inclusion
22 May 6.30 - 8.30

A panel discussion looking at representations of young people, resistance and creativity.

The role of reflection
29 May 6.30 - 8.30

An open table discussion on reflection and the creative process.

Different Endz is a Media Box funded project.

Michael McMillan
The Beauty Shop

Black folks spend more on hair and skin care products than they do on food
25 January to 28 March 2008

Following the critically acclaimed West Indian Front Room, which attracted 35,000 visitors to the Geffrye Museum in 2005-06, Michael McMillan’s forthcoming exhibition at 198, explores practices and ideas related to the maintenance, transformation and representation of the black body in a post-colonial context.

The body is a contested space in contemporary consumer culture, where the desire and ability to racially transform hair, face, skin and body parts reflects a complex myriad of tropes around ideals of beauty. For people of African descent, in a globalised world, hair texture, skin complexion, full nose, lips and body shape, flesh out culturally and politically charged issues, that resonate in everyday life. The cosmetics industry in general and the High Street beauty shop in particular, crystallises desires to transform hair and lighten skin, which affects diverse communities.

The Beauty Shop exhibition will bring the performative qualities of High Street cosmetic consumer culture to the gallery space, as a mean to interact with visitors. The Beauty Shop will also explore the influences which shape our understanding of “beauty” and the representation of “self” by opening the lid on the personal and collective experience of hair, colour and the body. It will encourage visitors to engage with the multi- layered desires, practices, representations and ideologies mediated by the matrix of family, gender, sexuality, social status, education and cultural politics.

'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'

Saturday 9 February 2008, 12 – 2 pm @ 198
An intergenerational retail therapy workshop using iconic brands to explore hair, skin and the body.
Please bring a product with personal meaning.
Free workshop, limited spaces available, booking required. Please contact 198.

'The more it burns, the better it looks'

A writers’ saloon in the beauty salon
Thursday 21 February 2008, 7 - 9 pm @ 198
Performance poets Khadijah Ibrahiim & Malika Booker join Michael McMillan to reflect on “Bad Hair Days”, “Geri-Curl Nightmares” and “Colour Affected Moments”
Free event, booking required. Please contact 198.

'On Beauty'

Thursday 6 March 2008, 7 – 9 pm @ 198
A panel discussion interrogating ideas of beauty, body consumer culture and skin care science in the African Diaspora.
With visual artist Barby Asante, Dr. Clara Kalu, Carol Tulloch and Michael McMillan.
Free event, booking required. Please contact 198

Sponsored by

www.paks.co.uk