Autograph, London

I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies

10 Oct 2025 – 21 Mar 2026

Free Exhibition
Curated by Bindi Vora

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From cut paper to generative AI, examining political dissent and erasure through the idea of collage

TICKETS

Pre-book free, timed tickets

Address

Autograph
Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA, UK

In development

This exhibition will open in October 2025

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This major group exhibition examines how photographs can be deconstructed and reassembled through the idea of collage, offering new perspectives on complex histories and contested social realities.

With deep roots in activism and artistic experimentation, photomontage has a rich legacy as a powerful tool for artists engaging with experiences of political dissent and erasure. Its possibilities are amplified by the relentless evolution of photography - a medium shaped by technological advancement and the shifting politics of representation.

From cut paper to generative AI, more than 90 works by 13 contemporary artists use collage as both method and metaphor, highlighting the fragility of photographic ‘truth’ and the archives that hold it. Sabrina Tirvengadum uses an AI model she trained on family photographs to reconstruct a fractured history shaped by the legacy of indentured labour in Mauritius; Sunil Gupta’s digital collages from the 1990s navigate the intersections of queer identity and diasporic experience; and Qualeasha Wood transforms self-portraits into tapestries that reflect on bodily autonomy and the pressures of internet culture. Jess Atieno troubles colonial archives in East Africa to explore how histories can be restitched into counter-narratives, while Sheida Soleimani creates layered tableaux that link political exile from Iran with the care of injured migratory birds.

As we reflect on the future of image-making, I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies resists completeness, questioning whether constructed images can stand in for disputed – and often entangled – narratives when words fail. 

Content note: We'd like you to know before your visit that this exhibition addresses some difficult themes. Some artworks reference violence or contain nudity.

ARTISTS

Arpita Akhanda, Brook Andrew, Jess Atieno, Wendimagegn Belete, Sim Chi Yin, Sunil Gupta, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Reena Saini Kallat, Henna Nadeem, Sheida Soleimani, Sabrina Tirvengadum, Thato Toeba and Qualeasha Wood

EXHIBITION PREVIEW

Sabrina Tirvengadum, Great Grand, 2022


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Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories III, 2023

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Sunil Gupta, from the series Trespass, 1992-1995

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Henna Nadeem, Fence from the series Between the Trees, 1999-2000

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Sheida Soleimani, Magistrate from the series Flyways, 2024

Sim Chi Yin, from the series The suitcase is a little bit rotten, 2022

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Thato Toeba, Man on Fire, 2017

EXHIBITION EVENTS

Book a Group Visit To Autograph

We warmly welcome schools, FE/HE, community and youth groups, SEND, staff outings, tours and more

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Exhibition Opening Night

Thu 9 Oct, 6 - 8pm
Join us to celebrate the launch of this major group exhibition

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Weaving Stories from The Photographic Archive

Sat 15 Nov, 1pm
A creative workshop exploring the relationship between heritage, memory and craft

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BSL Response: I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies

Tue 25 Nov, 6:30pm
Artist Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq will provide a BSL introduction and response to Autograph's new exhibition

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Being and Becoming: AI and Generative Art Workshop

Sat 6 Dec, 1pm
A hands-on workshop using collage and generative AI to explore identity , history and memory

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Constructing Worlds: Collage with Vintage Slides

Sat 17 Jan, 1pm
A unique opportunity to collage with vintage 35mm slides

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Talk: Femme Representation and Algorithmic Bias

Tue 27 Jan, 6:30pm
A discussion contemplating femme representation in digital spaces

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When Words Fail: Photomontage Workshop

Sat 7 Feb, 1pm
How can photography and montage become tools for self-understanding and communication?

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open calls

Call for Events: Methods of Making

Applications open Friday 10 October
Calling all emerging creatives! Submit your proposal to programme an event exploring themes of resistance and activism as part of Autograph's Methods of Making series

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Call for Artists: Photomontage as Activist Practice

Deadline to apply: 10am, 12 January 2026
Are you an artist using photomontage or collage to question dominant narratives? Share your work with us to exhibit it online with Autograph's support

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FIND OUT MORE ONLINE

Introducing the Artists

Introducing the thirteen artists in the exhibition

Read | 6 min read

Key Themes and Contexts

Introducing the exhibitions key themes and contexts

Read | 3 min read

"The suitcase is a little bit rotten"

Sim Chi Yin's 2022 Autograph artist commission

View commission

Sunil Gupta: Trespass

Find out more about these works from Autograph's collection

Find out more

Envisaging Genealogies and Disability Justice

Sabrina Tirvengadum discusses her artistic journey to unearth her Mauritian identity using AI and family records

Read interview

On Migratory Labour and Invisibilised Care Work

Curator Bindi Vora considers the work of Sheida Soleimani

Read | 7 min read

Working Within and Against the Archive

Thato Toeba discusses their new artist commission

Read | 9 min read

Reena Saini Kallat: Pattern Recognition

The artist's work, addressing issues of movement, access and inequity in relation to geopolitical borders

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Henna Nadeem: Big Black

The artist's work interrogating how landscapes can be contested sites of memory and identity

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In Conversation with Sim Chi Yin

On time travel interventions in the archive

Read | 15 min read

Henna Nadeem: Night Circles

A new commission combining landscape imagery with notions of sacred geometry

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The Earth Underneath a Pulverised HorseI

A newly commissioned work by Thato Toeba

View

YOUR VISIT

Planning a visit? Have a look at our Visit Us page to find out more about getting to the gallery, accessibility and more.

Accessible VEnue

Autograph welcomes people with all types of disabilities.

Step free

Our building and entrance is step free. A wheelchair accessible lift goes to all floors.

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Closures

Autograph's gallery will be closed between  3:30 - 9:00pm on Thursday 27 November for event set up.

supported by

Banner image: Sabrina Tirvengadum and Mark Allred, Family [detail], 2023.

Exhibition preview images. All images © the artist. From top left: 1) Sabrina Tirvengadum, Great Grand, 2022. Courtesy the artist. 2) Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories III, 2023. Courtesy the artist and Emami Art Gallery. 3) SSheida Soleimani, Magistrate, 2024. From the series Ghostwriter. Courtesy the artist and Edel Assanti. 4) Sunil Gupta, from the series Trespass, 1992-1995. Collection of Autograph, London. Commissioned by Focal Point Gallery/Essex County Council. 5) Sim Chi Yin, from the series The Suitcase is a little bit rotten, 2022. Commissioned by Autograph, London. Supported by the Bagri Foundation. 6) HHenna Nadeem, Fence from the series Between Trees, 1999-2000. Courtesy the artist. 7) Thato Toeba, Man on Fire, 2017. Courtesy the artist.

Your visit: Photograph by Kate Elliott.