“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
Who hasn’t had their heart broken? If love is a true emotion, it can only exist by the knowledge of its absence. Heartache, desire, devotion, lust, desperation, denial, longing, devastation, discipline, temptation, sex, obsession, passion, intimacy. All our lives are both connected and separated by affairs of the heart – how much do you really trust your own heart? And how is it affected by the forces of science, technology and politics around us?
The title of our exhibition conjures up feelings of love and loss in the uncertain world of our contemporary society. We’ve brought together a mixture of new commissions and existing art works that respond to this provocative statement. Our inspiration is also the 20th century classic drama Kasimir and Karoline – the basis for the first HOME theatre production of The Funfair – which tells the story of a breakup that happens over one night at Oktoberfest.
The overarching theme for the inaugural HOME visual art programme is Transactions of Desire, an exploration of what really motivates our intimate relationships and actions. To accompany this exhibition, we present a collection of short stories under this title exploring the fine line between love, loss and desire by artists and writers such as Douglas Coupland, Lynne Tillman and Emma Jane Unsworth. A related programme of artist film will include new work by Phil Collins, Stanya Kahn and Rosa Barba and Magda Archer will open HOME Projects with #givemeeverythingandnothingbaby, the first exhibition in the Granada Foundation Galleries responding to the themes in our opening exhibition.
Wu Tsang with Alexandro Segade is commissioned by Clifton Benevento Gallery. Zina Saro-Wiwa is commissioned by The Menil Collection.
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