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ArchiveExhibition

The Courtship of Giants

5 Feb-30 Apr 2022
PV 1 Apr 2022, 6-8pm

Eastside Projects
Birmingham B9 4AR

Overview

Emii’s largest solo show to date folds together an intricate web of references including the legend of Gilgamesh, the capture and coveting of giant artefacts from Iraq such as the Lamassu by the British Museum, the theatricality of medieval hunting arenas, the etymology and history of courting, ancient gravesite constructions, arrows and how wounds have been romanticised by the Pre-Raphaelites,  and their obsession with melancholia.

A large maze-like structure is taking over the main gallery, a lure of corridors and dead ends punctuated by giant wounded sculptures held captive on metal armatures. Traditional willow weaving techniques reimagined in cardboard and plaster walls create an immersive environment ready to entrap and ensnare. Steel arrows pierce walls and sculptures alike, quarrels and quivers anchoring limb-like objects in space, conjuring images of fallen knights, hunted animals, the coveted bodies hit by Cupid, and referring to the romanticised violence of the museum –  reminding us that the processes of longing, hunting, capture and collecting are underpinned by long bloody histories of conflict and colonisation.

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Media

Emii Alrai: From the Artists' Mouth (The Courtship of Giants)
Eastside Projects