London Art Fair 21-26 January 2025
In the intricate fabric of society, we all have a deep yearning to find a place where we can be understood, embraced and celebrated as part of a community. The artists presented here delve into identity and historical narratives in finding their place in the multifaceted nature of belonging in today’s world. Belonging is not a destination but a journey of discovery, empathy, and connection to find solace in our differences, strength in our solidarity, and the courage to weave an inclusive tomorrow.
Madi Acharya-Baskerville MRSS is an award-winning Asian-born diaspora artist, now living and working in the UK. She uses found elements to voice her themes in environmental concerns, migration and exile, gender issues and cultural diversity as a reflection of the world we live in. She is the winner of the Royal Society of Sculptors’ First Plinth Public Art Award. Her sculpture, The Double Act debuted in June 2024 with her exhibition, Caught in the Act, at Dora House, Kensington, London.
Kristian Evju is best known for making enigmatic and unpredictable graphite drawings and paintings based on project-specific historical archives. One of his recent projects involved utilising 20th century mug shots from American and Australian penitentiaries for women to explore both materiality and the transience of photographic narratives. Evju is a multiple award-winning artist who has exhibited and published worldwide. His work has recently been acquired by The British Museum’s permanent collection of drawing and prints, and will be part of an upcoming exhibition on Nordic art.
As a Black person brought up in a rough White estate in Essex by foster parents from the Romany gypsy community, Damilola Odusote uses his seemingly playful drawings to draw viewers into the complex political, cultural, identity and racial dislocation of his personal journey in his search to “belong”. Along with several mural commissions, Odusote will be premiering his first public art commission (which will be a 3-4 meter structure with an immersive audio-visual experience) for the Estuary Festival funded by ACE in June 2025.
Louisa Boyd’s work looks to the celestial and terrestrial planes to consider the persistent human desire to belong within the natural world. Her map images suggest navigation of both the physical and material world, as well as the individual emotional journey we make through life as we find our own sense of place.
Being the youngest of a set of triplets in a family of seven siblings growing up in a deprived hill sheep farm in Devon, Lucy Storrs set out to explore her place in the world away from Devon in search of her identity. Ironically, she has come full circle by embracing her past and finding her voice with wool and other textiles as her primary artistic material.