Perceive Sea, Dunes, Mountains in Move is the new exhibition in Brixton’s 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning. Exported from Finland, the show includes the work of seven artists and is a mix of sculpture, ceramics, video, installation and mixed media canvases. The works explore concepts of identity, place and space in relation to the Black diaspora – the spread of people beyond their homeland. The show is relatively small, but the work is very varied and reflects different artistic voices on a theme. Some pieces are more accessible than others. I was drawn to Liisa-Irmelen Liwata’s Three-poled compass. This is a very meditative work in ceramic and steel which has an other worldly character – a mobile organic form, almost like a giant hand carrying life – gently floating though space unable to settle.
Sasha Huber’s Remedy for Life Series uses metal staples on wood and pastel colours to create delicate flowing shapes reminiscent of water and a sense of the natural world under threat and being stitched together. They are snapshots from a larger story – comfortable and troubling at the same time.
The exhibition runs until 3 December in 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning 198 Railton Road, SE24 0JT. For information on opening hours visit www.198.org.uk
