Stanley Picker Gallery kicks off the autumn season with a new exhibition part of London Design Festival 2023 and a second international forum.

From 5-23 September, A World of Islands curated by Stanley Picker Fellow Ligaya Salazar will be showcased to form part of London Design Festival 2023- incorporating a special residency with artist Carol Anne McChrystal.

A World of Islands considers the movement of indigenous knowledge, practices, materials and people, and historical and current fabrications of tropical utopia and dystopia.

Locating the 'tropics' as both a mythological and real place with shared colonial and ecological trauma but wildly divergent histories and cultures, the exhibition unpicks some of the clichés and relocates agency in the 'tropical' narrative. It will also feature work by Stephanie Comilang, Ronyel Compra, Carol Anne McChrystal, Ceramica Suro, Derek Tumala and Alex Quicho.

From 9-19 September, Carol Anne McChrystal will occupy the Gallery for a short residency Ruined Cairn / Pinatubo Effect / Biak Na Bato exploring casting volcanic ash from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo Philippines, as part of an ongoing series titled Sandstone Keepsake (Beneath the Paving Stones). 

McChrystal is an artist whose materially-driven sculpture practice uses chemical processes and labor-intensive hand-making to explore the legacy of colonialism and trade, as well as the ways in which the climate catastrophe has compounded these histories of inequity.

As part of the residency, guests can join a Rush Weaving workshop led by Felicity Irons on Saturday 16 September, 1.30-4.30pm. You can book your free tickets via Eventbrite now.

The exhibition and associated residency accompany the second iteration of What Does a Design Residency Do? an international forum initiated by Stanley Picker Gallery and IASPIS (Stockholm) to connect new forms of residencies and fellowships.

To request an invitation for this one-day event on Monday 18 September, email the gallery at [email protected].

The day of the forum will conclude with a public reception from 5-6pm including a conversation between Stanley Picker Fellow Ligaya Salazar and artist Carol Anne McChrystal. The gallery states everyone is welcome to this free event.