Drawing attention: emerging British Artistsis the first exhibition of emerging artists at the British Museum (British Museum)
For the first time in history, the British Museum is dedicating an exhibition to emerging artists. The museum has acquired drawings that communicate current issues such as police violence and LGBTQ+ identity. The 24 drawings are displayed together with older works also related to these themes or a similar technique. The exhibition titled "Drawing attention: emerging British Artists" is a play on words both for the format of the works - drawings - and for the message, as all works call attention to issues of identity, social justice and queer expression.“I think it's incredibly important because we're bringing stories and perspectives that aren't currently represented in the collection, and we can show how they relate to the existing collection that we have here,” said Isabel Seligman, Monument Trust curator of the modern and contemporary design at the British Museum.Curator Seligman intends with this exhibition to draw attention to the purpose of drawings as final products, rather than an initial sketch of a larger work."I think it has moved from being more of a kind of personal or functional and preparatory medium to one that is more public and loud, and used to really highlight issues and bring attention to them", highlights Seligman.
Andy Warhol
Highlights of the exhibition by the curatorCatherine Anyango Grunewald
One of the highlights of the exhibition is "The Death of Trayvon Martin", by Catherine Anyango Grünewald. The graffiti drawing is based on a crime, the shooting of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012.
"The soft and hard graphite creates sort of alternating areas of matte and reflective graphite that really changes as you move around it," said Seligman.Next to it is on display the work "Electric Chair" by Andy Warhol from 1971. The American artist Anyango Grünewald worked in a similar way when using a press photograph for the production of his work and both apply the mechanical screen printing technique, however the curator emphasizes that the intention of the artists was different.
Catherine Anyango Grunewald
"So you have Catherine Anyango Grünewald who's really using this process and repetition in a way trying to invest it with emotion. And then you have Warhol sort of almost stripping all emotion out by using this very mechanical, commercial technique, but really both looking at the same subject and engaging with them in very interesting, comparable ways", says Seligman.
"Funny Girls" by Rosie Hastings and Hannah Quilan
On a completely different topic, "Funny Girls" by Rosie Hastings and Hannah Quilan — named after a gay bar, is a cartoon that transfers a location into a Renaissance setting. The curator compares the positions of the characters in this drawing to the style of Michelangelo's ceiling for the Sistine Chapel. Another artist who enters the queer perspective is Jake Grewal, with works inspired by Romanticism, but designed in a contemporary way with disorienting perspectives. At 28 years of age, Jake Grewal is one of the youngest artists linked to the museum. The exhibition runs from March 17th to August 28th, is free and has been supported by the Art Fund charity.
Jake Grewal