PROJECT

Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other

March 2020 - 2022

Curated by Mark Sealy, Renée Mussai and Bindi Vora

What

A commissioning programme reflecting on the Covid-19 crisis, supporting the creation and dissemination of new artworks and texts

Why

In March 2020, we decided it was essential to support creative practitioners, to help them to keep making work in unprecedented times

Who

Led by Autograph's curatorial team, we commissioned ten UK-based artists, plus ten writers to contextualise the work

ABOUT THE project

Initiated during the first months of lockdown in 2020, Autograph commissioned ten UK-based creative practitioners to create new work in response to the wider contexts of the Covid-19 crisis. The interdisciplinary artworks they produced represent thoughtful reflections on changing conditions of existence: generous invitations for us to think about what it means to be human and to care for one another. 

Using primarily photography and video, the artists reflect both carefully and critically – and often very personally – on the impact of the pandemic, exploring ideas of loss, family, home, belonging and diaspora while considering different lived experiences, and the inevitability of change.

Autograph's curatorial team spent a year working closely with the artists to support the creation of new work. We also invited ten writers – each paired with one of the artists – to produce a short essay reflecting on these artworks, and conducted a series of interviews with each artist about their practice. The commissions reflect Autograph’s long-standing mission, advocating for photography and film to address the visual politics of rights, race and representation.

The artists involved in Care | Contagion | Community were: Mohini Chandra, Poulomi Desai, Joy Gregory, Othello De'Souza-Hartley, Sonal Kantaria, Ope Lori, Dexter McLean, Karl Ohiri, Silvia Rossi, Aida Silvestri.

The writers were: Raymond Antrobus, Krasimira Butseva, Anthony Downey, Loren Hansi Gordon, Sushma Jansari, Dave Lewis, Tarini Malik, Anne McNeill, Lola Young, Campbell X.

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Introducing the Project

A short introduction to the Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other project and why it was important during the crisis

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One (Pandemic) Year On...

Our senior curator Renée Mussai contextualises the artist and writing commissions in a curatorial essay

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what we did

one

COMMISSION

We commissioned ten artists and ten writers at a time of change and uncertainty. 
two

EXHIBIT

We displayed the commissioned artworks in a group exhibition at Autograph gallery in London and Impressions Gallery in Bradford.



PUBLISH

We brought together the commissioned writing and artworks in a new anthology publication, and published the texts on Autograph's website.



what we accomplished

10 artists supported

Commissioned to create new work during this critical time

80+ new artworks created

Including photography, film and more

10 writers supported

Commissioned to produce texts as part of the project

1 new book

Autograph has published an accompanying anthology, featuring all artist commissions and texts

ExhibitioNS

A group exhibition of this work was first held at Autograph's gallery in London and toured to Impressions Gallery in Bradford

23 texts published

Contextualising the work and practices of a diverse cohort of UK-based artists 

shared online

In March 2021, we launched the artist commissions and texts online to mark one year since the first national lockdown

works accessioned

Artworks from the commissions are now part of Autograph's collection of photography

online artist talks

We collaborated with Photo Australia on PHOTO LIVE, featuring five artists from the project

sample

press coverage

The exhibition was featured in the Guardian and Forbes

the commissions

Mohini Chandra: Belated

Offering a visual mediation on ideas of place and belonging during the global pandemic.

View the commission


Read the text by Sushma Jansari


Read the artist interview

Poulomi Desai: Our cultures are the portals - the gateways between one world and the next

Considering how we might attempt to control the uncontrollable.

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Read the text by Tarini Malik

Read the artist interview

Joy Gregory: Madam Photo

A diary-like series of photographic and textual fragments drawn from daily encounters during lockdown.

View the commission

Read the text by Anne McNeill

Read the artist interview

Othello De'Souza-Hartley: Blind, but I Can See

Reflections on the notion of stillness, loss and how to navigate grief.

View the commission

Read the text by Raymond Antrobus

Read the artist interview

Sonal Kantaria: Ghar

Considering what 'home' might mean during a global pandemic and how it relates to cultural heritage.

View the commission

Read the text by Lola Young

Read the artist interview
sample

Ope Lori: The Lines Between Us / I, Becoming You

A performative exploration centred on a shared lineage of philosophy between father and daughter.

View the commission

Read the text by Renée Mussai

Read the artist in conversation with Campbell X
sample

Dexter McLean: Untitled

The artist reflects on the impact of Covid-19 on the community that surrounds him.

View the commission

Read the text by Dave Lewis

Read the artist interview
sample

Karl Ohiri: Equation for Humanity

Exploring the human condition and the different social functions of art.

View the commission

Read the text by Loren Hansi Gordon

Read the artist interview
sample

Silvia Rossi: Neither Could Exist Alone

Reflecting on the absence of touch and the structures we build to protect ourselves.

View the commission

Read the text by Krasimira Butseva

Read the artist interview

Aida Silvestri: Contagion - Colour on the Front Line

Exploring the impact of Covid-19 on frontline workers of colour, linking the present with the past.

View the commission

Read the text by Anthony Downey

Read the artist interview

EXHIBITION

The ten artists’ work was brought together for the first time in a group exhibition at Autograph’s gallery in Hackney, which was on display 23 September 2021 - 12 February 2022. The exhibition, which was curated by Renée Mussai, Mark Sealy and Bindi Vora, also toured to Impressions Gallery in Bradford. Watch a film featuring the exhibition curators and artists.




Book

Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other

Available from Autograph's gallery and our online shop.

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VR Visit

Virtually visit the acclaimed exhibition

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Artist Talks

A series of talks with PHOTO LIVE, featuring five of the commissioned artists

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supported by

Banner image: Poulomi Desai, from the commission Our cultures are the portals - the gateways between one world and the next, 2020. © and courtesy the artist, commissioned by Autograph for Care | Contagion | Community – Self & Other.

Commission images, all © and courtesy the artist, and commissioned by Autograph for Care | Contagion | Community – Self & Other: 1) Mohini Chandra, film still [detail] from the commission Belated, 2020. 2) Poulomi Desai, [detail] from the commission Our cultures are the portals - the gateways between one world and the next, 2020. 3) Joy Gregory, [detail] from the commission Madam Photo, 2020. 4) Othello De'Souza-Hartley, from Absence (triptych) [detail]. From the commission Blind, but I can See, 2020. 5) Sonal Kantaria, Ghar I [detail]. Film; 1 minute 16 seconds. From the commission Ghar, 2020. 6) Ope Lori, film still [detail] from the commission The Lines Between Us, 2020. 7) Dexter McLean, Kamahl [detail]. From the commission Untitled, 2020. 8) Karl Ohiri, = [detail]. From the commission Equation for Humanity, 2020. Digital Black & White Fiber-Based Gloss Prints, each 12 x 16 in. 9) Silvia Rosi, [detail], from the commission Neither Could Exist Alone, 2020. Archival giclée prints, each 8 x 8 inches. 10) Aida Silvestri, A Great Leveller [detail]. From the commission Contagion: Colour on the Front Line, 2020.

Book: Cover of Autograph's exhibition anthology Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other.