Welcome To My Crib: Curated by Anastasia Chugunova & Yueh-Ning Lee

Plush toys, Tamagotchi, movie posters dotted with sequins, photos from profile pictures on social media. 'Welcome to my Crib' embodies a journey to early adolescence, the time when we rediscover ourselves, the social and gender norms, and sometimes (or often) try to go against them. In this sense, artists use the sense of nostalgia as a way of self-reflection, which allows them to have a closer gaze at what might have shaped their own character or the wider cultural conventions.

This story is twofold: the artists in the project address the nostalgia for the early teenage years, turning to the domestic artefacts found on dusty bedroom shelves, which inevitably bear the traits of personal tastes and habits. On the other hand, they have a careful, attentive look at the images spawned from contemporary visual culture - movie screenshots, social media snapshots and others, which in particular hint at the current turn-of-the-millenium obsession and thus mirror our own beliefs and broader collective rules and behaviours.

Raised in South London by Indian mothers, artistic duo Athen Kardashian & Nina Mhach Durban use the sense of nostalgia as a way to examine the dialogue between collective and private memory in the context of the migrant experience. Community noticeboards reminiscent of schools serve as a backdrop onto which the duo assembles their collection of re-appropriated images, trinkets and assorted ephemera engaging conversations surrounding family, migration and pop culture. In utilising stills and headshots from Bollywood classics alongside various domestic objects, Athen and Nina reminisce on matriarchal upbringings, diasporic femininity and the nostalgic impulse to reflect upon one's girlhood.

In her artistic practice, Rachel Hobkirk aims to explore the captivating power of 'cuteness' alongside the commodification of our nostalgia for adolescence. Oftentimes depicting dolls and toys that, to a certain extent, serve as surrogates of herself, she ultimately points out the discomfort that a growing-up girl facing objectification might experience. As in the case of ‘Butterfly’ (2023), this aptly manifests itself through the equal treatment of plastic doll surface and human skin, and the belly button that unequivocally resembles a sexual orifice.

In a similar fashion, interdisciplinary artist Hawazin Alotaibi examines gender and representation, in particular in the context of social media in the constantly changing cultural and political dynamics in the Arab world. Raised between Saudi Arabia and the United States, the artist uses images of Arab men sourced through social media and fuses them with traditional symbols of femininity, such as flowers or pastel colours that she, as a child, frequently encountered in cultural and religious books. Most recently, Hawazin started incorporating manga characters into her work which she was actively drawing when she was a teenager. As in “Splashes” and ‘Luck Charm 3’ the manga faces are superimposed over traditionally feminine flowers, referencing the objectification of women by men and the cultures that these characters and fetishes generate online.

In his ongoing project, ‘Bears Who Care,’ artist Dean JF Hoy gives new life to soft toys found by the wayside of London’s streets, around cemeteries, and in charity shops. He carefully sources them, cleans them, and then begins to rebuild them by burning some parts or adding thicker seams, scraps of lace, and pearls which results in new puppets that are less harmless and tender but more unsettling. This process serves for him as a reaction to human negligence, an effort to deepen environmental and spiritual care. Starting with ‘Dope’, an alter ego of himself, and ‘Ribs’, Dean is planning to create a whole plush family around which he will weave a narrative about care and compassion.

About the artists:

Athen Kardashian & Nina Mhach Durban (b. 2000) are a British-Asian artist duo based in London. Their collaborative practice is founded on an open and ongoing dialogue examining their shared experience of being raised in London by Indian mothers. Previous solo exhibitions include ‘I’ll Wear My Bangles From Your Hands’, Soup Gallery, London (2024), ‘Sleepover’, Gathering’s Glasshouse Projects, London (2023) and ‘Full Fat Cola’, WASTE! Store, London (2023). Recent group exhibitions include ‘First Edition’, Collective Ending HQ w. Baesianz, London (2023), ‘The Ultimate Bootleg Experience’, Studio Chapple, London (2023), ‘The State of It’, GALLERY 46, London (2023), ‘Fracture Me Tenderly’, Greatorex Street, London (2023) and ‘(Homing, or) Adverse Possession’, Keepsake Project, London (2023).

Dean JF Hoy (b.1996) is a London-based visual artist, working between soft sculpture, film, and photo. His soft sculpture work is under the ongoing project 'Bears Who Care'. Hoy graduated Fashion Communication and Promotion BA from Central Saint Martins in 2019, where he has since taught. His work has been sold via Dover Street Market, Marc Jacobs Heaven, Distal Phalanx, Kathleen, Apocene, and Fantastic Toiles. His work can further be seen in publications such as The Face, DAZED, GATA Magazine, and RFD Magazine. Wider works have been included in the following exhibitions: ‘Beast Shelter - Save-Our-Souls’, Stockholm (2023), ‘Mascot Group Show’, Best Wishes Gallery, London (2022), ‘Kapow- the art of superheroes & villains’, Stoke Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent (2020), ‘Deana Lawson’ ICA Boston (2020), and ’Based on a True Story’, The Old Diary, London (2019).

Rachel Hobkirk (b.1995) lives and works in London. She received her Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Art at Royal Academy Schools. She had her solo exhibition ‘Baby Talk’ at L.U.P.O. - Lorenzelli Projects, Milan (2023). Previous group exhibition include ‘The Unlimited Dream Company II’, Hannah Barry Gallery, London (2023); ‘RA Schools Show’, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2023); ‘GLOSS’, TICK TACK, Antwerp (2022); ‘There Goes the Neighbourhood’, Castor Gallery, London (2022); ‘Moonstruck Noon’, Linseed Projects, Shanghai (2022); ‘Brick Games’, L21 Gallery, Spain (2022); ‘Disco’, Fitzrovia Chapel, London (2021); ‘GONE FISHING’, DOK Artist Space, Edinburgh (2019). Recent art fairs include Art SG, Linseed Projects, Singapore (2024) and ARCOmadrid, L21 Gallery, Madrid (2021).

Hawazin Alotaibi (b.1993) is a London-based, Saudi-American interdisciplinary artist, DJ and music producer. She achieved her BA in Painting at the University of the Arts London, and her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art. Selected solo exhibitions include: ‘Hawazin
AlOtaibi’, Outernet (in collaboration with Wepresent) (London, 2023); ‘You Took My Breath Away,’ IRL (New York, 2023); ‘Soft Whisper’, Harlesden High Street, (London, 2022); ‘Hawazin Alotaibi,’ Incubator, London (2021); ‘Without A Painter’ Fitzrovia Gallery, London (2020).

About the curators:

Anastasia Chugunova (b.1999) is a London-based researcher and curator graduated with an MFA in Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London (2023). Her research is driven by an investigation into media theory, specifically its intersections with psychoanalysis, affect theory and fiction. As a curator, Anastasia is committed to developing environmentally sustainable, low-carbon projects. Recent exhibitions and events include: ‘Todestrieb [death drive]’, Generation & Display, London, UK (2024); ‘Surface Tension’, DES BAINS, London (2024); ‘Sonic Flows’, Pushkin House, London (2024); ‘Fluid Cosmologies’, Forma Arts and Media, London (2023); ‘Beyond’, The Crypt Gallery, London (2023); ‘Play/Pause’, Chisenhale Studios, London (2022); ‘Prelude to Space’, Stokey Popup, London (2022).

Yueh-Ning Lee (b.1996) a London-based Taiwanese curator with project management experience in art festivals and arts in the public sphere. Ning holds an MFA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London (2023). Her research currently focuses on slowness, duration and the power of vulnerability concerning ecology and technology in the Post-Capitalism era. Her practice emphasises collaboration across disciplines, from time-based media and performance to digital curation with storytelling at its core. Recent projects include ‘Lavender, Hibernation and Neon,’ The Crypt Gallery, London (2024); ‘Those Who Dream, Dine’ Upper Ankyle, London (2023); ‘With(out) Language: In conversation with Karin Keisu and Josse Thuresson,’ Art/Work Association, Auto Italia, London (2023); ‘(...) Forgot to Remember to Forget (...)’, Gerald Moore Gallery, London (2022); ‘Prelude to Space’, Stokey Popup, London (2022); ‘Play/Pause’, Chisenhale Studios, London (2022); ‘OOO’, Hackney Showroom, London (2022).

For all sales inquiries, please email: anastasiachugunova99@gmail.com or ylee002@gold.ac.uk