11 February 2023–6 May 2023
John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton, is delighted to present a major new solo exhibition by David Blandy, Atomic Light.
Installation views of Atomic Light, David Blandy, John Hansard Gallery
Photo credit: Reece Straw
Still: Empire of the Swamp, David Blandy, 2023
Atomic Light is built on doubles, reflections, and equivalences of difference. Two films are shot on location in Singapore and the UK, the other two created using archive and found footage. The works echo each other, showing two worlds connected by an event, an idea, a sky.
Still: Sun Spot, David Blandy, 2023
All the stories interconnect through the story of Blandy’s grandfather, a British soldier interred as a Japanese prisoner of war in Singapore and Taiwan (Formosa), who always believed that the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima saved his life. The twinned films, The Edge of Forever and Empire of the Swamp feature the landscapes of southern England, his home, and Singapore, where he was first held as a prisoner of war.
Still: The Edge of Forever, David Blandy, 2022
In Sunspot, two observatories, (one in California, one in Tokyo) both observe the same sun on the day an atomic sun was made on earth; the Hiroshima bomb that killed 100,000 people. And in Soil, Sinew & Bone, archival footage mirrors a history of war and a history of agriculture; the fertile earth of phosphates and nitrates reflected into weapons of war.
The English tale (The Edge of Forever) is one of two children coming to terms with their familial history, how it is wrapped up with war and societal complicity with environmental destruction.
The Singaporean tale (Empire of the Swamp, written by playwright Joel Tan), is a fable of nature and the repercussions of colonialism. Both feature fragile ecosystems; mangroves at risk, the sea polluted, the air poisoned. Both island states are not self-sustaining, instead relying on imported food and imported labour. Singapore is built on a graveyard, and England is haunted by ghosts of the past, ghosts of Empire.
Still: Soil, Sinew & Bone, David Blandy, 2022
Expanding on his artist residency at Towner Gallery, Eastbourne in 2022, The Edge of Forever, this new exhibition at John Hansard Gallery includes immersive installations and associated ephemera.
Atomic Light is co-commissioned by John Hansard Gallery and Towner Eastbourne, with support from Arts Council England, Screen Archive South East and Elephant Trust.
David Blandy’s new artist book, published by John Hansard Gallery for the exhibition Atomic Light, on until May 6 2023, including contributions from curator and researcher, Annie Jael Kwan and the playwright and writer, Joel Tan.
Available through the gallery bookshop for the duration of the exhibition or order through Cornerhouse Publications here.