Tate Britain has unveiled their latest sculpture commission by 2016 Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton. The Squash is an immersive installation combining performance and sculpture.
This compelling commission demonstrates her ability to seamlessly weave together captivating images and narratives –
Alex Farquharson
The annual Tate Britain Commission invites contemporary British artists to create new artwork in response to the grand space of the Duveen Galleries.
Anthea Hamilton has transformed the heart of Tate Britain into an elaborate stage for the continuous 6-month performance of a single character, dressed in a colourful squash-like costume. Over 7,000 white floor tiles have been laid to span the length of the Duveens and encase a series large structures that serve as podiums for some works of art from Tate’s collection, chosen by Hamilton for their organic forms and colours. The tiles create an immersive new environment within the neoclassical galleries.
The artist is influenced by the early 20th-century French writer and dramatist Antonin Artaud and his call for the ‘physical knowledge of images’, it is this bodily response to an idea or an image that she wishes to examine in The Squash. Each element of the work has evolved from Hamilton’s interest in a found photograph, for which the source has since been lost. The viewer must imagine its history, and intention and it is here the artist brings together tiles, structures, sculptures and costumes, inviting the performer to explore their interpretation of the image. Hamilton has designed seven costumes in collaboration with Creative Director Jonathan Anderson at the fashion house LOEWE, that incorporate the colours and shapes of varieties of squash or pumpkin. Performers will select a costume each day, informing and reflecting their presentation of the character as they inhabit the space.
Anthea Hamilton is renowned for her bold, often humorous works which incorporate references from the worlds of art, design, fashion and popular culture. She has exhibited widely with recent large-scale, site-specific installations including her Turner Prize-nominated exhibition Lichen! Libido! Chastity! at the SculptureCenter in New York, re-staged at Tate Britain in 2016, and Anthea Hamilton Reimagines Kettle’s Yard at The Hepworth Wakefield.
Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain, said: ‘Anthea Hamilton has made a unique contribution to British and International Art with her visually playful works that both provoke and delight. This compelling commission demonstrates her ability to seamlessly weave together captivating images and narratives, creating rich new environments in which to encounter works of art.’
Tate Britain Commission 2018: Anthea Hamilton is curated by Linsey Young, Curator of Contemporary British Art, Tate, with Sofia Karamani, Assistant Curator of Contemporary British Art, Tate.
Tate Britain Commission 2018: Anthea Hamilton is the latest in a series of contemporary commissions for Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries which address the heritage of the space as a sculpture gallery. Artists are invited to develop a new work in response to the grand space of Tate Britain’s neo-classical Duveen Galleries. Artists who have previously undertaken commissions in the Duveens at Tate Britain include Cerith Wyn Evans (2017), Pablo Bronstein (2016), Christina Mackie (2015), Phyllida Barlow (2014), Simon Starling (2013), Patrick Keiller (2012), Fiona Banner (2010), Eva Rothschild (2009), Martin Creed (2008), Mark Wallinger (2007), Michael Landy (2004), Anya Gallaccio (2002) and Mona Hatoum (2000).
Anthea Hamilton was born in London in 1978 and studied at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Royal College of Art. Her solo exhibitions and performances include: Anthea Hamiton Re-imagines Kettle’s Yard, Hepworth Wakefield, UK (2016), LOVE IV: COLD SHOWER (with Nicholas Byrne), Schinkel Pavillion, Berlin, Germany (2016); Lichen! Libido! Chastity! SculptureCenter, New York, USA (2015); House, Oslo, Norway (2015) LET’S GO, Bloomberg SPACE, London, UK (2013); Sorry I’m Late, Firstsite, Colchester, UK (2012); Kabuki, Performance Year Zero, The Tanks, Tate Modern, London, UK (2012); LOVE (with Nicholas Byrne), Frieze Projects East, London, UK (2012); Open Set, IBID Projects, London, UK (2011); Gymnasium, Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK (2008); and Cut-Outs, Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam (2007). She has participated in numerous group exhibitions that most recently include: British Art Show 8, Hayward Touring (2015-2017); Chance Encounters, LOEWE Foundation, Miami, USA (2015-2016); La Vie Moderne, 13th Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France (2016); TERRAPOLIS, NEON and the Whitechapel Gallery, Ecole de Francaise d’Athens, Athens, Greece (2015); 10th Gwangju Biennale: Burning Down the House, Gwangju, South Korea (2014); Notes on Neo Camp, Studio Voltaire, London, UK (2013)