Our Blood for Strawberry Laces with Jade Zaheer, gHOST, The Koppel Project
After taking part in a previous residency 'The Lock In' at the Koppel Project space Opening, myself and other artists were invited back to tack part in a 2 week residency and project led by Rolina Blok.
Press Release for gHOST: Over the course of the year artists have inhabited the Angel Court project space and have imbued it with their artworks, thoughts, workshops, and events. This exhibition - gHOST - is created in response to the residual quality that these moments have left behind. With a turnaround of 2-weekslots, back-to-back, a new project each time - this building and the whole of Angel Court has suffered a shock to its normally rather quiet and corporate existence. Prior to OPENing coming to Angel Court, the address of 9-11 Angel Court has been the site of the first Westminster Bank, an Irish bank, a Live In Guardian situation and is to be turned into a Premiere Inn in the future. The airspace above the building, as the whole of the court is owned by our vis-à-vis neighbours at 1 Angel Court - a building which hosts the ghosts of our opposites. Over the year artists have heavily responded to the modern business area whilst working 7 metres above the Roman city Londinium.
Whilst installing this exhibition we have discovered that the ghosts of OPENing come in a great variety of shapes and sizes; we have the ghosts of the artworks, the ghosts of the accumulated drama, but also the ghosts who we disturbed when we moved in. Our host has been a calm space for the ancient ghosts (Celtic, Roman, etc..) to find solace, and they were disturbed by not only the students, but also by the new ghosts that were left behind after each project. Now all the ghosts cohabiting and have been interacting with us, negotiating opening times, guiding us through the space, making curatorial decisions, moving objects, removing pieces they don’t like, traveling up and down the lifts which are out of order and playing with the temperature of the project space. They seem to have become very communicative over the academic year. For this exhibition the ghosts have suggested that we observe the project space as an archaeological site. In green ectoplasm-filled room we can observe a display of haunted objects which have been left behind by various artists, ghosts, and characters.
You too can enter the ephemeral realm of the perpetual ectoplasm which imbues this room, whilst also perhaps searching for the ‘ghost in the machine’. You are invited to have a dialogue with the ghosts of OPENing in real time. A city that is on the move, we do not have time for elongated seances and happenings, therefore you can quickly leave your body and visit the 4th dimension on the go. Effortless. Please do not touch the haunted archaeological findings - we do not know how they will respond to each individual. If you wish to touch them, please leave your body and use this method to engage with them. Do not be alarmed by the Celtic Carnyx and the odd distant scream - the ghosts said we can host you to share our findings. written by the gHOST collective
