Loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland, a new London exhibition from multidisciplinary artist Charlotte Colbert heads down the rabbit hole, inviting us to become aware of what we dream and visualise collectively. Taking place during Frieze London 2023, the exhibition ‘Dreamland Sirens’, curated by Simon de Pury and LA-based gallery UTA Artist Space, is in the Grade II-listed Fitzrovia Chapel, an atmospheric space that shimmers with hundreds of golden stars and intricate mosaics.
On show are two 4m-high sculptures. A large-scale, pink, uterus-shaped sculpture, entitled A Taste of Exile, gives a tongue-in-cheek nod to Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts, while a monumental crying blue eye takes us through the looking-glass and into our dreams. Colbert’s work, which spans film, sculpture and installations, often deals with fairytales and dreams, creating a dialogue with the whispers of alternative realities. Guiding us through the looking-glass into an immersive and surrealist exploration of dreamscapes, symbolism and the mind, Colbert asks, ‘Which dreams and utopias can we magick into the world?’
The exhibition is set to a striking soundtrack by composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, played through mermaid-shaped speakers. ‘Diving into “Dreamland Sirens” with Charlotte has been a spectacular adventure,’ says Waller-Bridge. ‘I have always admired Charlotte’s art, so to be invited to collaborate with her was an honour. The way that Charlotte reads the world is completely unique, and responding to her work with my music has drawn me into new realms. I love the result, and I think that what we have created together reflects our mutual and deepest love of surrealism, and the rabbit hole.’
Remarks Colbert, ‘The exhibition takes place in the most magical location. A half-forgotten, mosaic-covered, fairytale-like chapel, tucked away from Oxford Street. So it had that immersive feeling from the get-go and my practice I work in different mediums so it felt natural to bring sculpture, music and writing together.
'The show was born out of ruminations with Simon and Zuzanna about Alice in Wonderland and this weird obsessive feeling I have that we seem to be living in or working towards the dystopias science-fiction writers penned in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. As if today’s powerful visionaries who control tech and new media were creating what they read about and were inspired by as children: driverless cars, talking machines (the creator of Alexa and Siri actually said that is how he had the idea, he had read a book as a kid about a talking machine), even the aesthetic of it all has a sort of Ballard twist.'
Adds de Pury: 'What drew me to the work of Charlotte Colbert is that she is so multifaceted and not a one-trick pony as so many artists are. She applies her talent to a multiplicity of media from ceramics to sculpture, furniture, video and cinema.'
'Psychoanalysis has always found its visual translation in surrealism,' Colbert adds. 'I guess surrealism is about challenging accepted reality by unexpected things being in unexpected places or in unexpected sizes.'
Colbert’s work has been exhibited at the V&A, Montpellier Contemporain, and the Basel and Istanbul art fairs. Colbert is also an acclaimed filmmaker, making her directorial debut in the psychological horror She Will (2021), which won the Golden Leopard for best debut at the Locarno Film Festival.
Dreamland Sirens runs from 11-21 October 2023 at the Fitzrovia Chapel, 2 Pearson Square, London W1,
charlottecolbert.com, utaartistspace.com, isobelwaller-bridge.com, fitzroviachapel.org
-
‘A beginning is a dialogue’: Simone Bellotti reveals a first glimpse of his vision for Jil Sander with an EP and music videoTitled ‘Wanderlust’, the music video and EP is a collaboration with Bochum Welt, signalling an esoteric start to Simone Bellotti’s tenure at the house before his runway debut later this year
-
Interni Venosta’s vases are made from laundry detergent bottlesBritt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimorestudio have conceived a series of expressive vases whose starting point is a humble plastic bottle
-
How an icon of Japanese Metabolist architecture took on a life of its own – even after its destructionWhen Kishō Kurokawa designed the modular Nakagin Capsule Tower more than 50 years ago, he imagined it boarding ships and travelling the world. Now it has, thanks to a new show at MoMA
-
Shop the gloriously mad inner workings of Gary Card’s brain in London’s SohoSet designer and artist Gary Card has taken over London's Plaster Store – expect chaos and some really good accessories
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of societyA new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal imagesWozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of ArtsGerman artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The CourtauldNew exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
