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.
FAD (Fully Assured Destruction) - Felix Weber, Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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.
_this breath is not mine to keep - Nexus Arts Adelaide - Nov 12 to Dec 11 2020
Overview of art works:
Bunker Rulz - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
Here Lies Humanity - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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?
Development + design: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell
Sculptor: Felix Weber
make great again - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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 (installation detail) - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell with 23 poets. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
dreamcatcher - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
Lullaby - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
Fully Assured Destruction (Felix Weber, 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?
Concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber
Sculptor: Felix Weber
The Sound of Annihiliation - Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
Solastalgia TV (Felix Weber). Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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?
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
Lost Connection (Felix Weber). Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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?
Concept: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber
Sculptor: Felix Weber
Bunker Rulz (Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell). Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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
This is not a cage (Felix Weber, Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell). Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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?
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
Here lies humanity (Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Felix Weber), sugar + concrete. Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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?
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 (Emma Hough Hobbs). Photo: Aaron Schuppan
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