London art gallery/studio, VSSL Studio, a queer-focused space based in Deptford, currently has an art programme, Facet, dedicated to the exploration and celebration of contemporary queer art and culture. The latest presentation, HERMAPHROGENESIS, is a large-scale multimedia installation, and the first solo exhibition by interdisciplinary artist Marcin Gawin.
Gawin’s work encompasses image construction, installation, and live art. His fascination with the human body and its potential for transformation is evident in his practice and in this forthcoming show, Gawin takes inspiration from the way organs and entrails of animals were sometimes used creatively in the ancient world.
HERMAPHROGENESIS converts Gawin’s vision into a ‘bioqueer’ artform. His neo-gothic, psychedelic aesthetic serves as both laboratory and chapel utilising his ongoing interest in re-imagining biology as material. Symbols from science, religion and the occult are transposed into new media collages, inviting viewers into an immersive hallucination.
Metallic light boxes are suspended from the ceiling using meat hooks and chains. Hand-crafted, silicone organs – lungs, intestine, and stomach – are re-arranged by the artist into mutant formations evoking floral still-life compositions or even Rorschach ink blots. The centre of the installation fuses Gawin’s iconography with androgynous forms, these organs forming the nucleus of Gawin’s queer temple.
Marcin Gawin says:
“I am interested in the internal landscape of the human body and how alien this looks. My work uses forms to explore the idea of reorganisation and rearrangement. I focus on organs that are universally shared across animal species such as lungs or gastro-intestinal tract, making compositions into new, androgynous organisms.”
Marcin Gawin 12th-28th of January 2024 VSSL studio Enclave, 50 Resolution Way Deptford, London, UK SE8 4AL
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
