Carter Tam

3rd May - 5th May 2022

MMX Gallery

Open from 11am - 7pm

In the upcoming month, Place To Belong collective launches their first group exhibition. This spectacular event marks a big opening into the group’s presence to the public eye. Place To Belong is formed from four UAL:Chelsea Undergrad students studying Fine Art: Keisuke Azuma, Seihee Cho, Arabella Muir, and Carter Tam. These four have come together to collaborate and engage in open discussion on their mutual interest on issues ranging from their identities and their place in the world. The showcase comprises work spanning from a large variety of mediums such as paintings, installation and interactive sculptures, textiles, and video work. 

The venue at New Cross Road in Deptford brings together the inquiries on belonging as it relates to love for one another, displacement in space/home, filial relations, and transient memories. Born in Japan, Keisuke Azuma’s precise and technical paintings remark upon fragments of memories of his subconscious past and internal turmoil. His work is created with an expressive precision and the artist is shortlisted to be considered for the RA Summer Exhibition. Seihee Cho’s work revolves around the temporality of location and her own sense of belonging with space. Her work is largely done in a fresh clean white and the elements in which she includes in her graphite drawings are reduced to its essential elements describing a symbolic and personal narrative to the viewer. Native to England herself, Arabella Muir’s bold, brash, and bright colors envelop the viewer in crocheted comfort alluding to her relationship with her family. Originally a painter, her textiles have painterly quality as they are overwhelmingly sprawled across the walls like tapestries. The work dives into the unconditional love she has for her parents with a tinge of romanticism. Finally, born in Canada, Carter Tam’s work explores his relationship to love and sex within contemporary culture and the impacts of not just technology and platforms to commodify the body (ONLYFANS) but also social affects which come into play such as his Chinese background and his gay orientation. Although generally a painter, showcased is his standout video piece of the year, controversial yet vulnerably honest, his sex tape.

Together these four emerging artists from different backgrounds and walks of life encapsulate into the viewer the insight’s and inquiries of what it means to belong and where we stand as humans. The variety of perspectives these artists have to share serve as a poetic dissection of community, love, and space as our position as social creatures. They transform the space into a comfortable environment open to the public to come and rest, feeling an atmosphere of peace and collaborative solidarity away from the general hustle and bustle of life.

Alongside these remarkable works is a spot dedicated to the selling of prints, memorabilia, and even the work itself to be purchased and brought home to the visitors. The public is welcome to take this rare opportunity to invest in these emerging artists and own not just a fragment of stunning array works but a piece of history.

wORK included