Jerwood Survey III: A Showcase of Emerging Talent at Site Gallery, Sheffield

This autumn, Site Gallery in Sheffield will host the acclaimed Jerwood Survey III, a biennial exhibition that brings together the works of ten emerging artists from across the United Kingdom. The exhibition offers a unique window into the current artistic landscape, capturing the diverse practices and pressing concerns of early-career artists.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a rich array of installations, sculptures, and multimedia works that engage with themes such as colonialism, climate change, gender, and spirituality.

An insight into Jerwood Survey III

Jerwood Survey III, now in its third edition, continues to uphold its reputation for presenting cutting-edge work by emerging artists. This touring exhibition is known for its distinct approach to selection, where established artists are invited to nominate new talents, ensuring that the showcased work is both innovative and reflective of contemporary issues.

The selected artists—Che Applewhaite, Aqsa Arif, MV Brown, Philippa Brown, Alliyah Enyo, Sam Keelan, Paul Nataraj, Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh, Ebun Sodipo, and Kandace Siobhan Walker—were chosen for their ability to navigate and articulate complex subjects through a variety of mediums, including photography, sound, moving images, and sculpture.

A journey through the artists and their work

Kandace Siobhan Walker's installation, Dreamerism, delves into personal history and broader social movements. Her work, a domestic bedroom installation, combines montaged footage with poetic spoken word, challenging Western narratives on climate change through the lens of Afro-Atlantic-Indigenous spiritualities.

Similarly, Ebun Sodipo creates work aimed at future black trans generations, using a methodology rooted in black feminist thought. Her hybrid brass sculpture, which features scanned images of hands from her community, speaks to themes of presence and embodiment across time.

Engaging with history and trauma

Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh, an artist from Derry, investigates the lingering effects of post-colonial trauma and ecological decline. His mixed media work, which includes sculptural healing tools, reflects on personal loss and the intergenerational transmission of memory.

In a different vein, Paul Nataraj's sound installation, Repetitions of 108: Counting almost nothing, uses modified vinyl record players to explore the South Asian diaspora and its spiritual connections. His work interrogates the complex relationship between colonialism, identity, and spirituality.

Queer narratives and futuristic myths

Sam Keelan presents a surreal narrative in his durational film that reimagines domesticity through queer lenses, while Alliyah Enyo draws on ancient myths and folklore to create a performance installation that echoes a futuristic ecological crisis. Enyo's work is particularly noted for its meditative quality, combining song and sculpture to build immersive experiences.

Cultural hybridity and the digital age

Philippa Brown and MV Brown explore the intersections of spirituality, digital technology, and cultural hybridity. Philippa's architectural sculpture is a vibrant exploration of divination and transformation, while MV Brown's use of AI and CGI in their karaoke performance installation questions the constructs of gender and identity in a digitally mediated world.

Aqsa Arif, who hails from a Pakistani refugee background, uses her dual cultural identity to explore themes of migration and healing. Her moving-image installation weaves together South Asian folktales to reflect on the tension between cultural archetypes and personal identity.

Finally, Che Applewhaite's photographic paper sculpture uses a fragmented narrative to explore diasporic homes and queer familial connections, adding another layer of depth to the exhibition's exploration of identity.

The exhibition tour and public engagement

Jerwood Survey III will be on display at Site Gallery from 26 September 2024 to 26 January 2025. This venue marks the second stop of the exhibition's national tour, which began at g39 in Cardiff and will conclude at Collective in Edinburgh in May 2025. Each location offers a distinct context for the exhibition, allowing the works to be reimagined and engaged with by different audiences.

Laura Clarke, Head of Programme at Site Gallery, expressed excitement about hosting Jerwood Survey III, noting the importance of bringing such a diverse and thought-provoking selection of works to Sheffield. The exhibition not only provides a platform for the artists to showcase their work but also encourages dialogue and interaction with local communities through a series of public events and educational programmes.

Supporting early-career artists

Jerwood Survey is more than just an exhibition; it is a crucial initiative that supports early-career artists by providing them with the resources and opportunities needed to develop and showcase new work. Southwark Park Galleries, the lead partner for Jerwood Survey III, has played a significant role in this process, supporting the artists over a nine-month period to produce the works featured in the exhibition.

The project is supported by Jerwood Arts, an organisation that has been dedicated to nurturing early-career artists across the UK. This edition of Jerwood Survey continues to build on the foundation laid by its predecessors, expanding the reach and impact of the programme through new partnerships and a broader national tour.

Visiting the exhibition

For those interested in contemporary art and the voices of the next generation of artists, Jerwood Survey III at Site Gallery offers a compelling and thought-provoking experience. The exhibition is free to the public and will include a range of events, including artist talks, workshops, and guided tours, providing multiple ways to engage with the work.

Visitors are encouraged to attend the press preview on 26 September 2024, from 12 to 2 pm, where they can gain deeper insights into the exhibition and interact with the artists and curators involved.

Jerwood Survey III is a significant event in the UK’s contemporary art calendar, offering a platform for emerging artists to present their work to a national audience. As it tours the country, it not only showcases the talent and diversity of the UK’s artistic community but also sparks important conversations around the themes that define our times. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience this unique exhibition at Site Gallery this autumn.