In a city where the pulse of art beats loudest, London’s Mayfair will soon echo with the vibrant voices of female artists as they unveil Her Alchemy at the HOFA gallery from July 12-25. The collective entails a group of resilient women, who break the norms of artistic disciplines with their talent and unique narratives. Emblematic of a convergence of perspectives, narratives, and mediums, this exhibition is a testament to the transformative power of art and its role in shaping cultural perspectives; it is a celebration of transcendence.
Her Alchemy represents both, the alchemical process these artists use to experiment and transform mundane materials into layered works of art as well as how they utilise their individual experiences to push boundaries in pursuit of their artistic expression. Co-curated by the co-founder of HOFA, Simonida Pavicevic and Dagmar Carnevale Lavezzoli, the founder of Crysalis, Her Alchemy is an assemblage for voices that refuse to be pandered and subjugated.
HOFA is revered for its collection of contemporary and new media art, which includes a multitude of artistic disciplines such as photography, painting, and sculpting to name a few. Their new media public art installations and immersive exhibitions gather patrons from near and far. Since 2018, the gallery has brought together traditional as well as contemporary artists, offering a platform that is dynamic, experimentation, and resolute.
The exhibit includes 13 headline artists from 10 different countries including Nigeria, Hong Kong, China, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Ireland, Australia, The Netherlands, Belarus, and Mexico. Ayobola Kekere-ekun (Nigeria), Jade Ching-yuk Ng (Hong Kong), Wang Ziling (China), and Orlanda Broom (United Kingdom) are the leading female artists of this fourth annual group exhibit.
Exploring the themes of gender, mythology, and societal pressures, Ayobola Kekere-ekun uses intricate quilling techniques to demonstrate her expressions. With personal experiences and modernist architecture as her muse, Jade Ching-yuk Ng’s work explores the fragility of intimate relationships, bridging the gap between reality and imagination. Wang Ziling, a maverick at invention, creates novel three-dimensional sculptural paintings, which offer a unique immersive visual experience. Orlanda Broom personifies contrasts, inviting audiences to introspect through her juxtaposing landscapes, depicting joy and unease, ripe and rot, and old and new. Her paintings are lauded for embodying the transient nature of life.
Other remarkably talented women participating in the exhibit include Ilhwa Kim (South Korea), Mary Ronayne (Ireland), Camille Hannah (Australia), Anne Von Freyberg (The Netherlands), Cynthia Sah (Hong Kong), Dong Li Blackwell (China), Marina Dunbar (Belarus), Sophie Victoria (Australia), and Susana Anaya (Mexico).
Dagmar Carnevale Lavezzoli, Her Alchemy’s co-curator added, “Alchemy is the power to change or create things in a way that appears magical, it’s the art of transformation, so we hope that by uniting these extraordinarily talented women under the one roof at HOFA Gallery for the first time, we will get to witness a little of this magic in motion.”
Feature image credits: HOFA Gallery
Also read: 5 Indian artists collaborate for ‘The UmbrellaArt Project’. And it’s all for a good cause.
