- Venue
- Ugly Duck Courage Yard
- Starts
- Tuesday, October 31, 2023
- Ends
- Sunday, November 5, 2023
- Address
- The Greenhouse, Courage Yard, Shad Thames, London SE1 2NJ
- Location
- London
- Organiser
- Ugly Duck
31st October – 5th November, The Greenhouse, Courage Yard, Shad Thames, London SE1 2NJ
London, UK – The Ugly Duck, known for its Tanner Street location, is set to open its new spot in Courage Yard with exhibition Altar-native featuring work by nine East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) artists. From October 31st to November 5th, Altar-native will offer a captivating exploration of ancestral heritage and veneration, weaving together enigmatic histories and personal journeys through diverse artistic expression.
Altar-native immerses visitors in the multiplicities within ESEA culture and diaspora. The artists come together to magnify and challenge ideas of death and mourning, confronting societal taboos. By expanding the notion of “ghosts”, exploring ritual and altar practices, the exhibition serves as a conduit for the reexamination of ancestral, and therefore personal, identities. The exhibition also explores themes of loss and immortality, transcending human-spirit boundaries and conventional understandings of grief.
Launching on Halloween, guests attending the opening night are encouraged to draw on ghosts and ancestral heritage as inspiration for their costumes/outfits.
Curators:
Dora Lam
Duong Thuy Nguyen
Featured Artists:
Alison Lam
Bettina Fung | 馮允珊
Dora Lam
Duong Thuy Nguyen
Megumi Ohata
KV Duong
Sammi Mak
Yang-En Hume
Yu Leng
The exhibition will be open daily from 11 am to 6 pm, running from the 1st to the 5th of November.
Opening night:
Join us for a private opening night on October 31st from 5 pm to 8 pm. Come dressed in ghostly or ancestral costume and receive a gift at the door. Complimentary tickets are available here.
Performance by Bettina Fung | 馮允珊:
Experience ‘Land As Anchor’ with artist Bettina Fung on November 4th, a captivating performance exploring the concept of land as an anchor, inspired by 土地公 (TuDi Gong) worship and migrants’ relationship with the land. Complimentary tickets are available here.
RHYTHM X RITUAL drumming workshop by Community Drumming CIC and Dora Lam:
Join us for a collaborative workshop with the Community Drumming CIC and Dora Lam on Saturday, November 4th, and experience a unique artistic dimension. Complimentary tickets are available here.
Panel Discussion:
Reimagining Ancestral Narratives: Exploring Identity, Loss, and Memory in ‘Altar-native’ Sunday 5th November 12pm – 1pm.
Ugly Duck team said “We are delighted to host Altar-native at The Greenhouse with the kind permission of Southwark Council and Solid Ground. The exhibition aligns with Ugly Duck’s mission to elevate voices from marginalised communities and champion subjects often sidelined. We are looking forward to exploring the diverse array of artistic mediums and delving into the ancestral history presented by 9 ESEA artists.”
