Preview: Thursday 28 September 6–8 pm
The exhibition continues until 3 December 2023
ICI London is pleased to support A Story Backwards, a new site-specific installation and the first solo exhibition in the UK by the Geneva and Berlin-based artist collective RM, commissioned and produced by Auto Italia, London.
The artists employ narrative and staging structures that have been adopted from Commedia dell’Arte – an experimental form of Italian public theatre popular across Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries – to investigate how social archetypes are manufactured by authorities in culture and society.
Kinetic objects and sculptural interventions explore the use of comedic stereotypes in theatre to establish social hierarchies based on the intersecting markers of gender and sexuality. RM narrative practice creates a space where the audience is challenged to reflect on systems of control and the function of historical, cultural, and imaginary constructions.
A Story Backwards has been made possible by the ICI London, Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Cultural Fund, and The Embassy of Spain in London. Its public programme is supported by Goethe-Institut London.
More info HERE.
Auto Italia is a non-profit contemporary visual art organisation dedicated to researching, producing, and exhibiting work on the intersections of queer studies and social change. Their programme supports artists, activists, and academics to develop critical discourse, active research, and experimental projects through major commissions and process-driven participation projects. At Auto Italia, the audience can find exhibitions, performance and live works, international touring projects, and creative learning activities for young people. Auto Italia’s commissions are made possible by our Exhibition Circle and Member supporters.
RM (formerly Real Madrid) is an artist collective founded in Geneva in 2015. The group’s works explore the intersections of sexuality, consumerism, and identity through large-scale sculpture and installation projects examining socio-political responses to stigmatised illnesses, focusing on sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Their recent exhibitions include CEC Centre d’Edition Contemporaine, Geneva (2023), Swiss Institute, New York (2022), Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris (2021), Fondazione ICA Milano (2021), Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (2021), Quadriennale Roma, Rome (2021), and others. RM was awarded the Swiss Art Award in 2018 and 2023.
Image Cover: A Story Backwards, 2023. RM. Courtesy of the artists.