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Akimbo (Yip, 2020) by artists Jimmy Robert curated by Nicole Yip, at Nottingham Contemporary, was a completely different experience (Figures 1-3). Robert has created other projects including Old Masters (2019) and Joie Noire (2019) which has been commended for articulating a ‘moment of pioneering visibility and questioning its racialized optics’ (Mclean, 2020). Roberts has effectively adapted tactile materiality from its more vulnerable nature via soft and more raw materials in Akimbo where ‘conceptualism meets sensuality’ to convey a complex ‘layered set of reflections’ (E-flux, 2020). However, Alex Stubbs has criticized Robert’s practice for its ‘sense of uncertainty’ due to the absence of ‘distance’ despite the success of the artist’s practice (2020). Could this be because there was a disconnection in the exhibition’s composition? This may have been a conscience decision, but I felt it diminished the sensuality slightly, resulting in a lack of intimacy and instead an ambiance of isolation.

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 This exhibition has a familiarity to Emotional Exposure (2020) by Emmie Morris and Chloe Willis at Twitchel Gallery (Figures 4-6). As the title of this exhibition suggests their as an emphasis on vulnerability which is similar to Akimbo which has been informative to my practice as it widened my contexts because this exhibition embodied themes of mental health and confession using intertextuality, video and installation, which provides a cathartic release of expression. Are there other methodologies to stimulate a discussion surrounding the issues aforementioned? What alternatives would create a more effective and personally significant experience for the audience?

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References

1. E-flux. 2020. Nottingham Contemporary. E-flux. [Online]. 11 September. Available from: https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/341207/jimmy-robertakimbograce-before-jones-camera-disco-studio/ [Accessed 30 April 2021].

2. Mclean, M. 2020. Jimmy Robert’s Body Language. Frieze. [Online]. 08 May, 211. Available from: https://www.frieze.com/article/jimmy-roberts-body-language [Accessed 30 April 2021].

3. Morris, E and Willis, C. 2020. Emotional Exposure. [Video and Installation exhibition]. At Nottingham: Twitchel Gallery.

4. Robert, J. 2019. Joie Noire [Exhibition]. At Berlin: KW Institute for Contemporary Art.

5. Robert, J. 2019. Old Masters [Exhibition]. At London: David Roberts Art Foundation.

6. Stubbs, A. 2020. Exhibition Review: Jimmy Roberts' Akimbo at Nottingham Contemporary. Leftlion. [Online]. 19 October. Available from: https://www.leftlion.co.uk/read/2020/october/exhibition-review-akimbo-at-nottingham-contemporary/ [Accessed 30 April 2021].

7. Yip, N. 2020. Akimbo [Exhibition]. September 2020–January 2021. At Nottingham: Nottingham Contemporary

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