Ain Bailey And Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski: Remember To Exhale
Desperate Living C–19

2020

A new sound work by Ain Bailey and Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski, commissioned as part of Desperate Living C—19.

Remember to Exhale is a meditation resource and tool. An exploration of what it means as an artist in this moment to produce and create from a place of rest and restoration. The notion of rest has been part of an ongoing transatlantic conversation the artists have been participating in. To exhale stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), the reminder to exhale, is meant to encourage and support the act of relaxation, healing and to aid in the recovery of trauma.

The meditation utilises soundscapes created by Sayge Caroll and Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski in 2017 at Sayge’s home studio in South Minneapolis. The audio was originally created as part of a performance curated by Nicole M. Smith for Patrick’s Cabaret, Controlled Burn series, held at Intermedia Arts,(Minneapolis) titled Stardate:02.20.2017, which included poetry by Keegan Xavi. Bailey and Ahaiwe Sowinski ‘remix’ the material into a 10 minute meditation.

Alongside this sound work, Bailey and Ahaiwe Sowinski produced a limited edition screenprint. The print has been produced with the generous support of contemporary serigraph artist Aida Wilde. Half of all sales will be donated to East London Out Project (ELOP). ELOP is a holistic lesbian and gay centre that offers a much needed range of social, emotional and support services to LGBT communities. Available now from House of Voltaire.

  1. Ain Bailey is a sound artist and DJ. She facilitates workshops considering the role of sound in the formation of identity and recently held a residency at the ICA, London. Exhibitions in 2019 included the group shows: ‘The Range’ at Eastside Projects, Birmingham; ‘RE:Respite’ at Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland, and ‘And We’ll Always Be A Disco In The Glow Of Love’, a solo show at Cubitt Gallery, London. Last year, Bailey was commissioned by Supernormal and Jupiter festivals to create and perform a new work, ‘Super JR’. Currently, following a commission by Serpentine Projects, she is conducting sound workshops with LGBTI+ refugees and asylum seekers, as well as working on commissions for radio for Deutshlandfunk Kultur and Savvy Contemporary’s new radio station, SAVVYZAAR.

  2. Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski is a Minneapolis/London based, mixed media artist and designer, archivist and organiser. She investigates archives in relation to Black and minority ethnic histories and experiences in Britain and throughout the Diaspora, theorising and sharing her ideas on archives as spaces of therapy. Her current research focuses on the synergies between feminist, queer and (self-)archiving as curatorial and artistic practice. She is currently the archivist for the Rita Keegan Archive Project.

    Most recent exhibitions include, Show & Tell, Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths (2015), WARM Guerrillas: Feminist Visions, Minneapolis (2016), Stardate: 02.20.2017, Controlled Burn, Patrick’s Cabaret, Minneapolis (2017), Dunkle Energie/Dark Energy: Feminist Organising, Working Collectively, Vienna’s Fine Art Academy, (2019), Mercator: Distortions and Projections in Discovery, The Triangle, University Arts London (2019).

  3. Ain Bailey and Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski, Remember to Exhale, 2020. Courtesy of the artists and Studio Voltaire.

Desperate Living C–19

Exhibition
Close-up of a person smiling with their hand resting against their face. The image focuses on their mouth, showing clean, white teeth, and part of their nose and chin which is covered in stubble. The lighting appears dim.

In House: Ain Bailey and Holly Graham

Exhibition

Studio Voltaire
1A Nelsons Row
London SW4 7JR


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