Abacus, Bluecoat, Liverpool
This interactive exhibition encourages visitors of all ages to break the traditional rules of a gallery space. Artists have been invited to contribute or design artworks to inspire children and adults to watch, draw, read and make. Artists taking part include: Simon and Tom Bloor, Polly Brannan, Rhys Coren, Frances Disley, Kevin Hunt, Anssi Kasitonni, Yusuke Mashiba, Trine Lise Nedreaas, Out of the Blue, Emily Speed, Mark Simmonds, William Wegman, Huw Wahl, and John Walmsley.
Until 1 October www.thebluecoat.org.uk
Rebecca Halliwell-Sutton, Slugtown, Newcastle upon Tyne
Current Woon Foundation Fellow Rebecca Halliwell-Sutton creates sculptural forms, objects, artefacts and documents that map the ‘lived, nuanced and paradoxical experience of gendered beings across time’. Exploring whether objects can embody feelings and provoke empathy, Halliwell-Sutton uses concrete masquerading as marble to question the idea of what is really natural.
Until 28 July www.slugtown.co.uk
Nature of the Hunt, Auto Italia, London
A project by Auto Italia in collaboration with writer and researcher Harman Bains, this exhibition considers what is at stake in our contemporary desire to re-imagine folkloric and historic modes of violence and resistance. Offering a survey of twentieth century exploitation and body horror cinema, the work questions how female characters from this sub-genre of horror cinema – the vampire, the werewolf, the wife, the witch and the mother – are often used as markers to subvert the infrastructures of society, the church and the state.
Until 3 September www.autoitaliasoutheast.org
Imtiaz Dharker: Sense of Line, Project Space, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, Leeds
This exhibition of drawings by artist, poet and documentary film-maker Imtiaz Dharker explores various themes including feminism, terrorism and oppression. Often incorporating poems, plus physical and mental landscapes, the images capture the increasing sense of estrangement and alienation afflicting various societies.
Until 2 August www.fine-art.leeds.ac.uk
Benedict Drew, Whitechapel Gallery, London
Working across video, sculpture and music, Benedict Drew creates large-scale multimedia installations which comment on the effects of socio-political and environmental issues. His new work, The Trickle-Down Syndrome, features five connected yet distinct spaces which draw on wide-ranging references, from Hollywood director Busby Berkley’s 1930s stage-sets to the Surrealist landscapes of Max Ernst.
Until 10 September www.whitechapelgallery.org
Images:
1. Simon and Tom Bloor, Loose Parts, installation at Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2013. Photo: Emil Charlaff
2. Rebecca Halliwell-Sutton, Relics of what could be, what could have been. Courtesy: Slugtown
3. Kôji Wakamatsu, Ecstasy of the Angels, 1972.
4. Imtiaz Dharker, Letter, pen and ink on hand made paper, 2017. A Sacred Sounds commission
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