Sunday Fantasy was a film and solo exhibition commissioned and shown at Mimosa House Gallery, London from May-July 2019. The exhibition was curated by Gallery director Daria Khan.
For my first solo exhibition in London, I created a liminal bedroom-like environment, which acted as the backdrop for mine and Amy Gwatkin's film commission Sunday Fantasy. Incorporating elements from the set of the film, drawing and new ceramic works, the exhibition focused on exploring and challenging ideas of fantasy, glamour and role play in relation to sexuality.
Challenging the idea of singular authorship, I worked with my friends and collaborators; Amy Gwatkin, Deniz Ünal and Nadja Voorham on the construction of the film inviting them to enact their own and each other’s fantasies within it. The film is set to a specially composed soundtrack by musician David Aird.
‘Sunday Fantasy’, installation view of film, Mimosa House gallery, London, 2019. Film co-directed by Amy Gwatkin, starring and in collaboration with Deniz Ünal and Nadja Voorham with a soundtrack by musician David Aird.
photos Tim Bowditch
images Sunday Fantasy, installation views, 2019 (standalone works as titled in captions below)
Sunday Fantasy plays with dissecting current representations of the erotic through a queered lens, in relation to notions of hedonism, role-play and the grotesque. The film follows a fragmented, dreamlike narrative centred around the character Veronica Malaise, who is played by 4 interchangeable women. The discontented Veronica finds an ancient, glass, scent bottle in the shape of a shell, on a beach near the mouth of the Thames Estuary. The bottle is possessed by the spirit of its previous owner, a fictional lesbian priestess from the Roman Empire, who used it to distil and realise her erotic fantasies. When rubbed on the nape of the neck or the genitals, the bottle has the power to make real the fantasies of the person possessing it. The film charts the non-linear journey of the Veronicas’ and the rise and demise of their fantasies through the manipulation of the bottle.
FILM Extract of 'Sunday Fantasy', 2019, Film co-directed by Amy Gwatkin
Flesh and lime slipper, 2019, Glazed earthenware ceramic, with gold and pearl lustre, 7 × 23 × 9 cm
Sunday Fantasy Bottle Orange blown glass, 2019, approx. 10x7x3.5cm
Seething Chartreuse Slipper, 2019, glazed ceramic
Green bum split personality mirror, 2019. Glazed ceramic.
The exhibition was supported by Arts Council England, GIRLPOWER Collection, Chakrubs, Davydov Bespoke, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Mayfair Art Weekend and Forest Recycling Project. With thanks to Rochester Square for making the production of the ceramic works possible.