a solo exhibition from Andie Aylsworth
Private View: Sunday 4th August 2024 16:00 - 20:00
Opening Hours: Tuesday 6th - Friday 9th August 2024 12:00 - 18:00
Location: Nunhead Cemetery Chapel
BOOKING IS NOT ESSENTIAL
This exhibition is part of the Summer series from the FLP x Friends of Nunhead Cemetery Curatorial Program.
Feminist Lecture Program and Friends of Nunhead Cemetery are proud to present “Sacred Ecology of the Universal Everything”, Andie Aylsworth’s debut solo exhibition. “Sacred Ecology of the Universal Everything” subverts the idea of nature as a stage in which human history is enacted upon and instead presents it as an active agent of history. Inspired by Shela Sheikh's assertion that ‘plants were and are of course never simply neutral and passive botanical objects but have always been actors on the stage of history and politics itself' (The Wretched Earth, 2018), Aylsworth creates a venerative space within Nunhead Cemetery Chapel to facilitate moments of recognition for the vegetal kin embedded in the works presented in the exhibition.
This exhibition is made up of four installation works, each a product of interspecies collaboration, illustrating how humans and more-than-human kin create together. Aylsworth’s use of materials and methods honors the indigenous way of being in harmony and coexistence with the land, an approach rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which teaches that we are part of nature, not separate from it, and that our more-than-human kin possess valuable wisdom. Aylsworth draws from the wisdom of indigenous traditions, emphasizing the deep kinship we share with our more-than-human relatives.
The setting of Nunhead Cemetery's chapel shifts the perspective of the exhibition to a site of reverence and reflection. Each installation creates a moment of contemplation, inviting visitors to engage deeply with the more-than-human kin present in the works. The context of the ruined chapel exposes the experience to the elements, making each piece a ritualistic act of respect and gratitude in the natural world.
We invite you to join us at Nunhead Cemetery to experience “Sacred Ecology of the Universal Everything”. Engage with the artworks, reflect on the themes, and embrace the call to honor our vegetal kin through acts of reciprocity and respect. This exhibition offers a vision of a world where we recognize our place within the web of life and celebrate the profound relationships that sustain us all.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Andie Aylsworth (she/her, b. 2000, Miami, FL) is a London-based multidisciplinary installation artist. Aylsworth’s practice centers on the more-than-human, the varying relationships humans share with these nonhuman beings and what knowledge these beings hold for humanity. A recent graduate of Central Saint Martin’s College, London, she was awarded the This Earth award by LVMH for her practice’s commitment to sustainability and traditional ecology. She has exhibited work internationally at institutions including Tate Collective, the National Gallery, London, and the Rubell Museum Miami.
Creating a body of work based on the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of her indigenous ancestors, Aylsworth shines a light on the detrimental perspective of western-centric environmentalism and its use of reductive binaries. These binaries focus solely on divisions of nature vs. culture, human vs. nonhuman or eurocentric vs. global viewpoints. Aylsworth evokes these dichotomies in her practice through her use of seemingly conflicting materials; pairing metal with natural fibers to convey an anthropocentric point of view. In doing so, she hopes to realize a ‘come-togetherness’ to break down the misconceived notions of western-centric environmentalism and instead move towards the cohesion that is achieved in indigenous knowledge – proving that humankind does not stand outside of nature but shares an innate inseparability from it.
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/andie.aylsworth.studio/
WEBSITE: https://andieaylsworth.com/