I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies

10 Oct 2025 – 21 Mar 2026

Free Exhibition
Curated by Bindi Vora

Tracing political dissent and erasure through the idea of collage

TICKETS

Tickets will be available to pre-book in June 2025

Address

Autograph
Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA, UK

In development

This exhibition is in development at Autograph and 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 80 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. 

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

Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories IV, 2023

Sunil Gupta, Trespass, 1992-1995

Henna Nadeem, California, 1999/2000

Sheida Soleimani, Magistrate, from the series Flyaways, 2024

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

Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories III, 2023

EXHIBITION EVENTS

Book a Group Visit

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

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FIND OUT MORE ONLINE

"The suitcase is a little bit rotten"

Sim Chi Yin's 2022 Autograph artist commission

View commission

Artist Interview: Sunil Gupta

Learn about Sunil Gupta's photography and activism

Watch

Envisaging Genealogies and Disability Justice

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

Read interview

Artist Development Programme

Sabrina Tirvengadum is one of four artists in the Visualising Disability project

Find out more

YOUR VISIT

This exhibition will open in October 2025. 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.

supported by

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

Exhibition preview images, from top left: 1) Sabrina Tirvengadum. 2) Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories IV, 2023. © Arpita Akhanda. 3) Sheida Soleimani, Magistrate, from the series Flyaways, 2024. ©Sheida Soleimani. Commissioned by MAST Foundation Bologna. Courtesy Edel Assanti. 4) Sunil Gupta, Trespass, 1992-1995. © Sunil Gupta. 5) Sim Chi Yin, from the series "The suitcase is a little bit rotten” [detail], commissioned by Autograph for Critical Times: Dialogues in Contemporary Photography (2022), supported by the Bagri Foundation. 6) Henna Nadeem, California, 1999/2000.  © Henna Nadeem. Collection of Autograph, London. 7) Arpita Akhanda, A Veil of Memories III, 2023. © Arpita Akhanda.

Your visit: Photography by Kate Elliott.