Chelsey Zi Wang, DaddyBears, Ariane Heloise Hughes, Lily Bloom, Ronnie Danaher, Dyke Viagra, M Lissoni, Georgia Somerville & Marta Burhan

6th December, 2024 - 11th January, 2025

The pursuit of the divine in the digital age remains a significant area of inquiry, as we navigate the complexities of contemporary compulsions to devote ourselves to something greater: an impulse that coexists with a relentless consumption of media, dogmatic structures, and iterations of a daily bread that has staled. Showcasing artists with varied relationships to Catholicism from Irish, Italian, Greek Orthodox, and Chinese perspectives the 'God Willing' group show will seek to interrogate both of these urges, within the context of devotional institutions that both tether and bind, returning to the foundational principles of faith. Catholic regalia and religious iconography are reimagined through the intersecting lenses of queerness, digital culture, and embodiment, offering a critical reconstruction of sacred symbols, practices, and holy texts.

Text by Isabella Greenwood.

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Image 1:
God Willing curated by Isabella Greenwood at Shipton, 2024

Image 2:
Lily Bloom,
Mud and Mire, 2023,
Plastic, Wax, Blood,
12 x 17 x 8.5 cm

Image 3:
Ariane Heloise Hughes,
Waiting Game, 2024,
Oil on linen,
25x25cm

Image 4:
Chelsey Zi Wang,
⅙ Second, 2024,
Metal, Acrylic board,
29 x 49 x 2.5 cm

Image 5:
Chelsey Zi Wang,
Untitled, 2024
Watercolour and colour pencil on maruishi paper on aluminium,
72 x 104 cm,

Chelsey Zi Wang,
What Has Happened Cannot Be Vapourised, 2024
Metal, silicone,
26 x 61 cm,

Image 6:
Dyke Viagra,
Crucifixtion: gouniota, 2024, 
Iron, natural leather, tattoo ink,
116.5 x 80.5 x 5 cm

Image 7:
M Lissoni, 
Saint Paul, Patron of Missionaries, Evangelists and Theologians, 2020
Aged Copper, Fragment of Pauline Epistles, hand-bound book, presented in vacuum plastic bag, 
20x30cm 

Image 8:
M Lissoni,
Saint Sebastian, Patron of Archers and Athletes, 2020
Aged copper, ‘Rush’ poppers, hand-bound book, presented in vacuum plastic bag,
20x30cm

Image 9:
M Lissoni,
Saint John the Baptist, Patron of baptism and people dealing with storms, 2020
Aged copper, lock of human hair, hand-bound book, presented in vacuum plastic bag,
20x30cm

Image 10:
M Lissoni,
Saint Apollonia, Patron of dentists and mouths, 2020
Aged copper, dentist tool, handbound book, presented in vacuum plastic bag,
20x30cm

Image 11:
M Lissoni, 
Saint Agatha, Patron of breast cancer and bell founders, 2020
Aged copper, nipple tassel, hand-bound book, Presented in vacuum plastic bag,
20x30cm

Image 12:
Ronnie Danaher,
(a), If you jump on a moving party tram, where do you land? 2024, (b), Saint Wilgefortis (Redux), 2024

Image 13:
Ariane Heloise Hughes,
The Rot Consumes,2024,
Oil on linen,
40x25cm

Image 14:
Lily Bloom, 
Gypsy Rose, 2024,
Aluminum, Solder,
58.5 x 40 x 30 cm

Image 15:
Lily Bloom,
Stay With Me, 2023,
Plastic, Wax, Blood,
15 x 43 cm

Image 16:
DaddyBears,
Romance Bridge, 2022,
Poly Satin, Hollow fibre stuffing, Poly cotton thread,
30 x 70 x 24cm

Image 17:
Dyke Viagra,
Archaic 01, 2024
Mild steel, natural leather, tattoo ink, plaster. 
Variable Dimensions.

Image 18:
Dyke Viagra,
Altar: Butch, 2024
Mild steel,
133 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm

Image 19:
Georgia Somerville, 
Eternal Flames, 2024
Ceramic, Greek Orthodox beeswax church candles, 
25 x 17cm
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For all enquiries, please email info@shipton.gallery