Exciting spring programme opens at Spike Island

Spike Island is set to launch its spring programme of exhibitions on February 5, with a major new commission by LA-based artist Candice Lin, and the first iteration of a film project from New York filmmakers Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer, in collaboration with Oba.

Bristol 24/7 was invited down to view the artworks ahead of the opening, and to learn more about the inspiration and extraordinary process behind the artists’ work.

Candice Lin: Pigs and Poison

The chosen title for Lin’s exhibition Pigs and Poison refers firstly to a derogatory reference to Chinese indentured labourers, and then to the illegial opium trade in the 19th century.

As the notes explain: “Weaving together the interconnected histories of disease, migration, colonial trade, indentured labour and anti-Asian prejudice, the exhibition explores how, as Lin says, ‘contamination and virality are racialised’”.

Concerned with the idea of contagion, humanity and inhumanity in the plagues of the 14th century (known as the ‘Black Death’) and the 19th and 20th centuries, Pigs and Poison will of course be viewed in the long shadow of COVID-19, adding a powerful contemporary resonance to the exhibition.

Lin’s latest work was commissioned by Spike Island, in conjunction with partners Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand, and Guangdong Times Museum, China, where it has been already been shown.

Candice Lin, A Robot Spoke What My Father Wrote (2019) – photo: courtesy of Candice Lin

However, it is the resplendent double height ceiling space of Spike Island where it feels like it has a natural home.

Lin’s creative process is as multifaceted as it is fascinating. Her installations operate as entire systems, mixing traditional with experimental techniques, and evolving from an investment in the research that both underpins and echoes through her work.

The centrepiece of the installation is a huge trebuchet that launches cannonballs at the gallery walls, in graceful fashion, but impressive force – notable from the spray on the walls around the structure itself. Formed from a mixture of oil, lard, wax and black bone pigment, the balls are capable of creating a visceral painting from violent means.

Health and safety dictates that the public must be moved back to the front of the gates before the trebuchet is launched, which will be done twice daily, at 2 and 4pm, and will produce a loud noise.

Candice Lin, Scold’s Bridle (Animal), (2019) – photo: courtesy of Candice Lin

Other pieces in the exhibition include Vermin Visionary, a plague doctor mask adapted to incorporate a VR version of the exhibition, in which cannon balls appear to be hurled directly at the viewer; Witness – a series of unnerving ceramic-masked sculptures, wearing synthetic hair and woven cloaks; and a collection of large so-called Flesh Lumps made from wire, fibreglass, resin and wax.

These grotesque bodies, each of which contain a speaker playing recorded purring from Lin’s cat Roger, are designed to evoke ‘plague-infected ’ carcasses that would have been hurled over the city walls during the siege of Caffa in Crimea in the 14th century.

Candice Lin, Witness (Blue Version), 2019, from Spike Island exhibition – photo: courtesy of Candice Lin

Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer with Oba: Nosferasta

Nosferasta is a new commission for Spike Island from Brooklyn-based filmmakers Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer, working with Trinidadian artist and musician Oba, who happens to live next door to Khalil.

The 33 minute film is the first iteration of a potentially feature-length piece in the future, and is intriguingly described as a Rastafarian vampire film – the imagined chronicles of Oba having been bitten by a vampiric Christophe Columbus.

Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer – Nosferasta film still – photo: courtesy of the artists

The exhibition notes set out the significance of pairing these two figures within the narrative:

“Flitting between film forms, timelines, locations and perspectives, Nosferasta tells the story of an ageing Rastafarian vampire reckoning with the impact of colonialism. It examines the guilt surrounding his complicity in imperial conquest, while acknowledging the extreme difficulty of unlearning centuries of vampiric conditioning.

“Ultimately, the film tackles an uncomfortable question: How can you decolonise yourself, if it’s in your blood?”

Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer – Nosferasta film still – photo: courtesy of the artists

Accompanying the film in the exhibition, there is a garishly adorned ‘votive demon sculpture’ and a series of hand-painted and stencilled t-shirts from Oba.

Additionally, a book has been produced, bringing together iconography, speculative fiction, diary extracts and essays from the project, as well as contributions from visual artists including Peggy Ahwesh – herself a recent exhibitor at Spike Island with Vision Machines.

An online conversation hosted by Adam Murray on February 24 for Bristol Black Horror Club promises to be a chance for viewers to explore more fully the complexities of the project.

Candice Lin: Pigs and Poison, and Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer with Oba: Nosferasta are at Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Rd, Bristol, BS1 6UX from February 5-May 8, Wednesday-Sunday 12-5pm (closed Monday and Tuesday). More information on the programme is available from www.spikeisland.org.uk. Gallery entry is free and you do not need to book.

Main photo: Candice Lin, A Robot Spoke What My Father Wrote (2019)

Read more: Female artists breaking new ground at Spike Island

Listen to the latest episode of the Bristol 24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: