NADA
As it Unfolds
Curated by Fitsum Shebeshe
March 13 – April 15, 2025
Hannah Murgatroyd, More Than One Gold, 2024, Oil on linen, 59 × 47 inches
As It Unfolds explores human transformation as a continuous and evolving process shaped by the interplay of time, memory, and experience. This exhibition brings together a diverse group of artists whose works delve into the multifaceted processes of becoming—whether personal, collective, or imagined—manifesting through various narratives and forms. Rather than presenting change as a fixed state or linear progression, it considers transformation an open-ended continuum, influenced by historical contexts, possibilities, and inherent uncertainties. Thus, transformation is perceived not as a final destination but as a dynamic interplay of emergence, dissolution, and renewal.
Through mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, and digital media, the participating artists investigate the nuanced boundaries between permanence and impermanence. Some engage with archival materials and historical narratives, illustrating how the past resonates within the present and informs speculative futures. Others employ abstraction, utilizing texture, repetition, and fragmentation to convey the fluidity of time and the ephemeral nature of existence. Each piece offers a distinct perspective on transformation, highlighting deeply personal aspects while connecting to broader cultural and historical contexts.
As It Unfolds navigates the liminal space where past and future converge, presence and absence intertwine, and the familiar transitions into the unknown. Reflecting on transformation as a continuous, evolving process, the exhibition fosters an ongoing dialogue that extends into the broader spectrum of everyday life.
“Our bodies have been painted from palettes held up against our faces for years as we sat still, being studied. Yet we paint from our own bodies, and our body is the palette, for it is life we paint with. When I carried my child, I felt my genetics change. Her history is part of my cellular history now, and the white embellished rags come from Danish embroidery, from her grandmother, who was my daughter’s age when the Germans invaded. Tinkling bells, a mediaeval birthing girdle and Iceni coins coming from Boudicca’s reign, from my island history, from the stories of women who’d face down death for their children, for there is more than one gold to riches.”
Hannah Murgatroyd