Event overview
Chelsea Space and the Decolonising Arts Institute at UAL present 20/20: Reflections.
Our collaboration in 2024 with the Decolonising Arts Institute was a series of talks and screenings that looked back on the Decolonising Arts Institute’s ambitious 20/20 project.
These events showcased the diverse perspectives and artistic journeys from some of the first 20/20 cohort. The audience heard from the experiences of artists Gayle Chong Kwan, Yuen Fong Ling, and Hannah Sabapathy.
Created and led by artist and Professor in Contemporary Art, Susan Pui San Lok, 20/20 was launched by the Decolonising Arts Institute in November 2021. This ambitious 3-year programme was designed to help artists' careers and drive change within art collections. The 20/20: Reflections project is a response to:
- critical societal issues
- social inequalities
- racial injustices prevalent within the arts and culture sector.
By facilitating artist residencies and large-scale artistic commissions, 20/20: Reflections brought together 20 emerging and mid-career global majority artists with 20 public art collections to take up residencies across the country. This in turn has led to the collections’ permanent acquisition of new commissioned works, a series of commissioned texts; and a public programme bringing artists, curators and writers into conversation.
The Taotie: Gayle Chong Kwan
Gayle Chong Kwan explored themesin relation to The Taotie, which included:
- diasporic rituals and histories
- neolithic funeral vessels
- miniature portraits worn on the body
- the politics and provenance of collections.
Gayle completed a residency with Compton Verney. She presented an exhibition of the work created during this time.
It responds to Compton Verney’s internationally renowned Chinese collection of bronze food and wine vessels from the Shang Dynasty (about 1500 – about 1050 BCE) to the Ming Dynasty (1369 – 1644 CE) and miniature portrait collections.
The Taotie (2024), the exhibition of new photographic, sculptural, and ritual work that Gayle Chong Kwan developed from her residency, is on show at Compton Verney until March 2026.
Website: Gayle Chong Kwan
We Are the Monument: Yuen Fong Ling
Artist Yuen Fong Ling, explored themes of risk and care within the gallery space during his residency at Sheffield Museums Trust,
Hear his thoughts about his 20/20 residency, which led to him curating the exhibition We are the Museum at the Graves Gallery. The exhibition views the plinth as a social, political, and cultural symbol, inviting visitors to think about the importance of those who are represented on it or who challenge it.
This includes Monumentalise (2023), a new series of short films by Ling, inspired by artworks and objects from Sheffield's collections.
Website: Yuen Fong Ling
Counterparts: Hannah Sabapathy
Artist and designer Hannah Sabapathy discussed the reproduction and appropriation of designs in historical textiles with curator Uthra Rajgopal.
Hannah’s new work was created during her 20/20 residency at The Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library in Preston. It responds to The Textile Manufactures of India (fabric sample books from 1866 by John Forbes Watson, published by the British India Office).
The work will be on permanent display in The Harris Museum when the museum reopens in 2025.
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