Join us at the opening of _this breath is not mine to keep - liberation and revolution, Nexus Arts Gallery Adelaide CBD Lions Arts Precinct, Nov 12 - Dec 11, presenting sugar, video and concrete works in response to liberation and revolution, to imagine reclaiming life in and beyond escalating crises.

Date: Nov 12-Dec 11 2020 - Launch Thu Nov 12th 5.30pm - RSVP essential
11am-4pm Tue–Fri, Nexus Arts, Lion Arts Centre, North Tce/ Morphett St, Adelaide SA
Click here to access the Nexus Arts virtual gallery.

At Nexus Arts in Adelaide, ‘Bunker Essentials’, a mixed media concrete installation and ‘Cycles’, an experimental short film and soundscape, explore revolution, liberation and anger in ‘The Bunker Age’ of entombment and nostalgia.

Artists: Piri Eddy, Emma Hough Hobbs, Carl Kuddell, Jen Lyons-Reid, Johanis Lyons-Reid, Jamila Main, Justin Pounsett, Ben Tamba, Felix Weber

Globally we are witnessing the extinction of our world, and yet we continue to fuel our demise, so how do we notice our involvement, disrupt the stasis and rewrite the rules?

_this breath is not mine to keep, curated by Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell, interrogates how everyday supremacy thinking manipulates our emotions, conceals systemic injustice and sabotages acts of solidarity.

REVOLUTION: This installation juxtaposes shelter and concrete crisis: Bunker Essentials welcomes us to a bunker, surrounded by absurd video shrines entombed in concrete offering glimpses into the future.

Find the virtual gallery here: https://www.nexusartsgallery.com/_this-breath-is-not-mine-to-keep/

Cycles is an experimental film by Johanis Lyons-Reid (moving image) and Justin Pounsett (sound)

Find the full PR Kit here.

http://nexusarts.org.au/

_this breath is not mine to keep - Nexus Arts Adelaide - Nov 12 to Dec 11 2020

Overview of art works:

0 DON’T CONTROL LIFE

BUNKER RULZ

Bunker Rulz, 2020, poetry printed on plastic sheets, interrogates how everyday supremacy

thinking targets our emotions to conceal systemic injustice and sabotages acts of solidarity. At

once obstacle and entry, the work invites us into Bunker Essentials: 10 Shrines to Supremacy

in an entombed world.

How do we notice our involvement, disrupt the stasis and rewrite the rules?

Artists: Sculpture + poetry: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

1 DON’T OBEY DENIAL

HERE LIES HUMANITY

Here Lies Humanity, 2020, a tombstone to play.

Globally we are witnessing the extinction of our world, and yet we continue to fuel our demise.

How do we find courage to live life in the face of devastation?

Artists:

Development + design: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

Sculptor: Felix Weber

2 DON’T BATTLE SORROW

MAKE GREAT AGAIN

make great again, 2020, is a Shrine to Normalized Competition. An absurd prayer to

individualism, it offers a glimpse into a dystopian now to explore our addiction to death, not life.

What future will we imagine for our shared world?

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

ROLL CALL

Roll Call, 2020, is a collaborative poetry multi-media installation, that reveals how supremacy

thinking manipulates our grief and colonizes our minds.

How do we tell different stories in a fully commodified world?

Artists: Geoffrey Aitken, Nick Carroll, David Cookson, Donna Edwards, Nigel Ford, Rory Harris,

Kym Holly, Stephen House, In Her Interior, Emilijia Kasumovic, Helen Kelly, Carl Kuddell, Niyati

Libotte, Jen Lyons-Reid , Johanis Lyons-Reid, Wallace McKitrick, Kathryn Pentecost,

Avalanche, Mike Riddle, Clyde Rigney Jnr, Heather Taylor-Johnson, Cedric Varcoe , Doll Yoko

_this breath poetry anthology: https://www.thisbreath.space/poetry

3 DON’T CONVERT SHOCK

DREAMCATCHER

dreamcatcher, 2006, a plastic bag caught in flight, sporting the Eternity emblem, embedded in

resin. A poignant home art accessory, this nostalgic beacon of rampant consumerism will

brighten any bunker space. Cheaper by the dozen.

How do we debunk the delusional stories that more is better and celebrate degrowth?

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

4 DON’T PACIFY DESPAIR

LULLABY

Lullaby, 2020, is a Shrine to Comfort, an altar to the desire for shelter, care and harmonic

entombment.

A child-centered bunker radiates a bright and caring future. Enduring education toys and

confectionary rewards help enrich and pacify our future generations. Stocks are limited.

How do we embrace our despair and nurture solidarity?

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

5 DON’T THREATEN ANGER

FAD (Fully Assured Destruction)

FAD, 2020, forms a mighty Shrine to Brutality, the ultimate Bunker Essential. In times of

escalating crises, who wouldn’t want a handful of grenades and rocket launchers handy for

self-protection? The future is here, be prepared for war and stay safe.

How do we use our rage to de-power systemic violence?

Artists:

Concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber

Sculptor: Felix Weber

THE SOUND OF ANNIHILATION

The Sound of Annihilation, 2020, stacks wistfully labelled food cans hoarding silent memories of

nostalgia, suppressed rage and desire.

A concrete jacket and teddy bear sit back to back, among canned desires and listen for

sounds of life. Be inventive and turn every aspect of bunker life into a game. Conserve your

memories now, before it’s too late. Then label and order your soon-to-be-lost freedoms to

curate a joyful, future user experience. And always look out for the unexpected re-use

opportunity, dispel bunker fever with hours of family fun.

How do we disrupt the threats of physical, mental and structural violence?

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

6 DON’T MANIPULATE BARGAINING

SOLASTALGIA TV

Solastalgia TV, 2020, is a Shrine to Civilization, an invitation to meditate on nostalgia, when

media was still full of promise and progress was worth bargaining for.

Go on, you know the jingles.

How do we live without dead time?

Artists:

Concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber

Sculptor: Felix Weber

©2020 Change Media Contact: Carl Kuddell, 0407 811 733 www.thisbreath.space 3

_this breath is not mine to keep - Nexus Arts Adelaide - Nov 12 to Dec 11 2020

7 DON’T NORMALIZE BLAME

LOST CONNECTION

lost connection, 2020, is a Shrine to Normality, peddling inclusivity myths with communication

artefacts that depict the deification of our thoughts. We are the gods of landfills and the high

priests of hope. Stay positive, subscribe and like your own reflection, capitalism cares for us.

How do we disconnect from the empire of illusion?

Artists:

Concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber

Sculptor: Felix Weber

8 DON’T RESTRICT ACCEPTANCE

_THIS BREATH

_this breath, 2020, a Shrine to Epistemology, plays with our intimate connection to

everything and challenges the belief we can plunder and control the universe.

_this breath is a slideshow of the 10 collaborative multi-artworks that explore how 10 everyday

supremacy beliefs target our emotions.

Breathe out and experience the existential joy of not making sense: I am the universe and the

universe is me.

What is the impact of trying to segregate and control everything?

Artists: Visit www.thisbreath.space for artist bios

9 DON’T PROMISE LIBERATION

THIS IS NOT A CAGE

This is not a cage, 2020, is a human-sized cage, handcrafted from steel, a

quintessential Bunker Essential, the Shrine to Transcendence. Door ajar, a void, the

incubator of fear, distrust and systemic violence awaits. Enter at your own risk, this

social blueprint has entrapped entire cultures and portends the eradication of all life

forms. We are all imprisoned as long as any living being is locked behind bars.

In our dreams of liberation, will we dismantle the cages or carry them with us?

Artists:

Sculptor: Felix Weber

Bunker Essential concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

The Last Elephant on Earth film prop: Writer / Producer: Piri Eddy | Director: Johanis Lyons-

Reid | The Last Elephant on Earth screens at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2021

BURN YOUR IDEAS

burn your ideas, 2020, are sugar sculptures, edible morsels shimmering with colonial conquest,

slavery and contemporary health horrors.

Some ephemeral offerings were submerged in the glowing self portrait vessels, to feed the

SCOBY. The rest are scattered amongst the concrete, as symbols of sweet immortality, relicts

of excess, a carbohydrate blast, when other foods become scarce.

How do we support each other to regularly challenge our personal and collective assumptions?

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell

10 DON’T DICTATE REVOLUTION

CYCLES

Cycles, 2020, is a video installation responding to our collective grief and loss for a way of life, a

planet, and a future imagined that will never be seen. Cycles is built around ten imagined

stages of grief, with surreal visual representations of each.

Apocalyptic vignettes reflect on the mundane horrors of living on the other side of catastrophe,

and an inability to contextualise life-shattering change.

Watching our demise with apathetic disinterest as our denial finally turns to shock, will it be too

late to make a difference?

Artists:

Crew and Cast:

Writer/ Director/ DoP/ Editor: Johanis Lyons-Reid

Writer/ Producer: Piri Eddy

Producers: Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell

Art Department: Emma Hough Hobbs

Standby Props/Costumes: Ainsley Ewart

Gaff: Tim Carlier

1st Assistant Camera: David Tang

2nd Assistant Camera: Bec Taylor

Hair and Make-up: Ashleigh Richardson

Recordist: Tom Wroblewski

Sound/ Mix: Justin Pounsett

Cast: Benjamin Tamba and Jamila Main

CYCLES - COSTUMES

Cycles - costumes, 2020: Reusable woven bags turned into singlets, builders plastic shaped

into belts and accessories as bunker essentials. Emphasising an apocalyptic, liminal space, the

materials are detached from their modern context and extrapolated into bunker fashion. The

outfits represent the different stages of grief and provide separation through colours, as such

the different themes of the video art are explored through olive, navy and amber outfits.

How do we get out of the bunker mentality and embrace play?

Artists: Costumes and props by Emma Hough Hobbs

Date: Nov 7 - Dec 6 2020 - Launch and Opening Ceremony Sunday Nov 8, 2pm
Hours: 11am-4pm Thu–Sun, Fabrik Arts, Woollen Mill, 1 Lobethal Road Lobethal, SA 5241
Contact: 84080400, fabrik@ahc.sa.gov.au

_this breath is not mine to keep is a provocative multi-arts experiment exploring 10 stages of grief, delusions of supremacy and the existential joy of life. 
Ten co-creative installations, including sculptures, bio-art, multimedia, painting and poetry, form an arts trail linking 4 public galleries in South Australia Sep 2020 – Jan 2021, with print and online publications.

Artists: Carl Kuddell, Lyn Lovegrove Niemz, 
Jen Lyons-Reid, Deborah Prior, Clyde Rigney Jnr, Cedric Varcoe, Felix Weber and 23 poets

At Fabrik Arts + Heritage in Lobethal, textiles, concrete, wool, multimedia and barbed wire are used to explore denial, blame, despair and notions of comfort and justice.

Globally we are witnessing the extinction of our world, and yet we continue to fuel our demise, so how do we notice our involvement, disrupt the stasis and rewrite the rules?
_this breath is not mine to keep, curated by Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell, interrogates how everyday supremacy thinking manipulates our emotions, conceals systemic injustice and sabotages acts of solidarity.

DESPAIR: Curated as a series of sculptural installations, Fabricated Emotions are emotional beings crafted from textiles, blankets and barb wire to explore how we really feel, presenting works made with communities in response to despair and anger arising from climate crises, inter-sectional violence and systemic injustice.

Lost Flock (on the consequences of comfort), by Deborah Prior, is constructed with lovely soft bricks fashioned from blankets. Deceptively comforting. Easy enough to smother you, weigh you down.Lost Flock is constructed with lovely soft bricks fashioned from blankets. Deceptively comforting. Easy enough to smother you, weigh you down.

Settlement is a giant barbed-wire ball of wool, with knitting needles, deified on a white gallery plinth, by Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell and Felix Weber. It juxtaposes the comfortable illusion of the ‘settler state’, conscripting the homely craft of knitwork into the brutal fabrication of nations.

Artists: Deborah Prior, Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber

BLAME: How do we value diversity? Contested Space is a collaboration between Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Ngarrindjeri artist Cedric Varcoe and Ngarrindjeri cultural advisor and writer Clyde Rigney Jnr, that focuses on visualizing the attempted erasure of Indigenous Australians.

Excuse Purifier 3.0 is a multi-modal kinetic sculpture by Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell and Felix Weber.
Be dazzled by catchy songs of denial and laments of whiteness, as this interactive Excuse Purifier sucks in your blame and expunges your responsibility. Voices by Cathy Olsson and Nadia Vernari.

Artists: Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell, Clyde Rigney Jnr, Cedric Varcoe, Felix Weber

Denial: Terracotta Worriers: Lyn Lovegrove Niemz collaborated with Jen Lyons-Reid and Carl Kuddell on Terracotta Worriers, an army of unfired clay effigies carrying our collective denial against a backdrop of intersecting catastrophes. The full work of 120 sculptures will be revealed at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa Dec 11th. Privileged, challenged, woke or ignorant, we are still in denial wishing for a normality that never was.

Artists: Lyn Lovegrove Niemz, Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell

Find the full PR Kit here.

https://fabrik.org.au/

Hello poets: We are keen to collaborate with you on ‘_this breath is not mine to keep’, to explore how supremacy thinking colonizes our minds.

Globally we are witnessing the extinction of our world, and yet we continue to fuel our demise, so how do we notice our involvement, disrupt the stasis and rewrite the rules?

Your short poems [max 25 lines] must reflect on and respond to at least one of our 10 provocations challenging how everyday supremacy thinking weaponizes grief.

Longlist: Featured in a shopfront projection at Victor Harbor Coral St Arts Space Sep 5 - Oct 4 2020

Shortlist: Inclusion in  ‘_this breath’ arts trail exhibitions + campaigns Oct 2020 – Jan 2021

Finalists: Inclusion in ‘_this breath’ anthology [e-book, print and web]

Poetry submissions open: Wednesday 01 July 2020, 9:00am CST
Poetry submissions close: Friday 31 July 2020 5:00pm CST

Submissions must comply with our Terms & Conditions and online submission form: https://www.thisbreath.space/poetry-call-out

Selected poets will be notified by email on 14/09/2020.