28 January - 17 April
Explosion of Words is a cinematic photo installation, extending frieze-like over 24 metres of the Nunnery Gallery’s gothic walls, celebrating the power of language. The exhibition is the culmination of Swiss artist Hannes Schüpbach’s (*1965) response to the lived spaces of east London-based poet and language activist Stephen Watts (*1952), who works between extensive research on poetry and his own contributions as a poet and co-translator from many languages.
Approximately 1600 pages of Watts’ ongoing Bibliography of Modern Poetry in English Translation will be mounted directly onto the gallery’s four-metre-high walls as a background for Schüpbach’s space-spanning photo installation, creating a cosmos of world poetry. Watts’ Bibliography, which is 40 years in the making, will be transformed into a physical experience, creating a ‘storehouse of language’, reflecting Watts’ own passion for poetry in every tongue. In the nave space of the gallery, an excerpt of Schüpbach’s new silent film Essais (2020), with Stephen Watts, will also be on display.
Watts’ Bibliography opens up perspectives onto the rich wealth of poetry that has been, and still is being, written or performed out of many different histories and environments, as well as exploring the many cultural issues involved in translation. An artists’ limited edition of the Bibliography in four volumes has been printed for the exhibition, which will be walked across London to the National Poetry Library as a celebratory performance event near the end of the exhibition.
181 Bow Road, E3 2SJ
Heartspoken Word Open Mic Night
03/03/2022
6-8 pm
Join Heartspoken Word in their latest offering on the poetry circuit: a casual, fun, and intimate open mic night centring on the theme of ‘integration’ and what it means to you.
This event is open to poets of all levels of experience – whether it’s your first time reading or you’re a seasoned pro – as well as to those who want to simply listen in and enjoy the performances. The evening will also feature readings from some familiar faces in London’s spoken word, poetry and open mic scenes.
