Traces of Being

What we leave behind, what we hold onto, and what we choose to transform shape not only our past and present but also our future—and ultimately, who we are.

Traces of Being is a gathering of voices which has culminated in a tapestry of various memories, identities, and transformations woven through the hands of 13 visionary artists. Each at a different stage in their career, they bring forth stories etched in paint, fibre, film, and form—whispers of histories, echoes of love, and the shifting landscapes of self and place.

Brought together through the Aspire programme, these works are invitations—to step into liminal spaces, to question and to feel, to unravel and reimagine. Inspired by Sivan Rubinstein’s ‘Embodied Activism’ this exhibition is a response to Aspex’s current exhibition and the gallery’s legacy of presenting works by seminal women artists such as Helen Chadwick’s ‘Ego Geometria Sum’ which was exhibited at Aspex over 20 years ago. Looking through the lenses of these exhibitions, womanhood, bodies and the act of embodying protest became the catalysts for which the Aspire cohort made new work or re-contextualised already made work for this group show.

Here, art becomes a conversation, a mirror and a threshold. Through their chosen mediums, these artists ask you to reflect, to engage, and to explore the fluid, ever-changing essence of being.

This exhibition was made possible by Ricardo’s forward thinking and the session leaders, to whom we extend our gratitude.

Exhibiting artists

Danielė Balsytė, Charlotte Edsell, Alicia French, Jan Frith, Anu Gamanagari, María de la O Garrido, Hannah George, Matt Humphrey, Deborah Rainsford, Jacqueline Rolls, Gwennan Thomas, Sara Truckel, Ian Whitmore

Co-curated by Lena Evans & Anu Gamanagari

About Aspire

Aspire is a skills-driven professional development course designed for artists, curators, and arts professionals to further develop their careers in contemporary visual arts. The course has been managed by Ricardo Reveron Blanco and Maya Brasington.