ALICE KEMP

YUICHIRO KIKUMA

Still an Hour, Not a Stranger

~

An Online Fundraising Exhibition

1 -31 March 2023

In 2017, gallery artists Alice Kemp and Yuichiro Kikuma participated in an artist residency in Adana in Southern Türkiye. The residency, organised and curated by artist Mustafa Boga, brought together artists of different nationalities and invited them to engage with the local community with the aim to promote cultural exchange but also personal growth through artistic expression. Both artists still feel a personal connection to the region and the many ways it has informed their practice to this day.

Humanity is at the heart of all artistic creation so, in response to the devastating effects of the earthquakes that hit Southeast Türkiye and Northwest Syria, the artists and the gallery are raising funds to support the humanitarian efforts in the region through the online exhibition Still an Hour, Not a Stranger.

The exhibition presents a selection of paintings that were created during or inspired by the time that Alice and Yuichiro spent in Adana.

~ We will donate 50% of proceeds to the DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal via the British Red Cross ~

We know that the earthquakes have claimed the lives of over 45,000 people and that there are over 20 million people in the affected area, many of which are in urgent need of shelter, food and medical aid as homes, hospitals, key infrastructure and places of worship have been reduced to rubble. The focus of the humanitarian efforts is now shifting to providing urgent and essential support for survivors who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.

Art has the power to transcend time, borders and differences but, above all, it is an expression of everything we have lived through and everything that makes us human. Art does not save lives but it can serve as a reminder that, essentially, we are not strangers and there is always time to help.

The exhibition title was inspired by a video piece by Yuichiro Kikuma, filmed in Adana and titled Still an Hour for a Stranger, 2017.

Watch the video here

For more information contact us at info@ioneandmann.com

ABOUt The Artists

ALICE KEMP

Alice Kemp (b. 1987, Brighton, UK)  is a visual artist and educator living and working in London. She finds inspiration in nature and the beauty of its inherent imperfection and asymmetry, what she describes as “crookedness” or “bulginess”. Her practice focuses on traditionally decorative subjects like plants, flowers and landscapes, partly as a deliberate act of defiance against long-standing stereotypes and preconceptions about subject, style and gender in painterly discourse. Influenced by the Japanese approach to art where the distance between art, decoration and nature is shorter, she approaches her subjects with a conscious mix of expression and restraint, minimalism and visual overload.

She is a graduate of University College Falmouth (BA First class Honours in Fine Art, 2010), Central Saint Martins (MA Fine Art, 2016) and University College London : The Institute of Education (PGCE Art and Design) 2019).

YUICHIRO KIKUMA

Yuichiro Kikuma (b. 1982, Chiba, Japan) is a visual artist living and working in London. His work attempts to visualise the invisible forces, patterns or rhythms that exist around us in daily life, in the same way as any landscapes are created as a result of their specific climate. His paintings often incorporate non-painterly methods to create conditions for unexpected images to emerge. In recent years he has predominantly used ink and explored household devices as mark making tools, enabling him to work indirectly, often in a mechanical and repetitive manner which leaves space for calculated chance. Driven by rhythm and pattern in both inspiration and process, his fluid, abstract style appears as a manifestation of energy favouring perceived spirit over direct imitation.

He is a graduate of Wimbledon College of Arts (BA Fine Art, 2010) and Central Saint Martins (MA Fine Art, 2016).

We urge you to support our efforts but every amount, no matter how small, counts; if you would like to donate to the British Red Cross directly, or find out more about how their teams and local partners are helping, please visit their website www.redcross.org.uk.

If this initiative inspired you to support this appeal and you would like to share it with us, or if you have any other queries, please email us at info@ioneandmann.com.

All images: copyright the artists, courtesy of the artists and IONE & MANN