SHOWNews: Your Weekly Arts Bulletin

EXHIBITION

THE ECHO OF PROTEST IS DISTANT TO THE PROTEST by Nazanin Noori at Auto Italia

Last year, the UK Government announced it would be 'clamping down on disruptive protests' with 'new laws' and although this doesn't threaten your right to protest on UK soil, it does give the police more power to stop protests - however peaceful they may be. Which is why Berlin-based Iranian artist Nazanin Noori's THE ECHO OF PROTEST IS DISTANT TO THE PROTEST is more relevant now than ever before, especially in the context of the current geopolitical landscape - Trump, Palestine, Ukraine...need I go on?

Created with the intention of directly responding to Jina Amini's death in 2022 and the uprisings that followed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the exhibition features newly commissioned works that examine the emotional (im)mobilisation of the public in the context of political protest while also reflecting on Iran's ever-changing sociopolitical landscape. Through sculptural, sound and spatial installations, Noori imagines a fictional post-revolution Iran where those in power meet the same fate Amini did on 16 September, 2022. Weaving poetry, sound and performance together, THE ECHO OF PROTEST IS DISTANT TO THE PROTEST not only envisions an alternative future but also reflects on martyrs lost as a result in the ongoing fight for freedom. As part of the programme, Noori will also be giving an artist talk on 12 April at 13:00 BST, offering further insight into her practice and the themes explored in the show.

THE ECHO OF PROTEST IS DISTANT TO THE PROTEST at Auto Italia opens to the public on 11 April until 22 June.

EXHIBITION

Downpour by Jonathan Lyndon Chase at Sadie Coles HQ

'When it rains, it pours' they say but what does that mean? 'Downpour is something that happens, suddenly, fast and very unexpectedly' artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase believes. 'I see this very much as how the concept of change or transformation behaves in our daily lives.' Exploring this idea further, the artist's latest exhibition Downpour at Sadie Coles HQ looks at the umbrella as prop and metaphor in a new series of paintings utilising the artist's signature caricature-like style. By tapping into the idea that water is both destructive and cleansing, Lyndon Chase's works evoke emotion in a way few scenescapes can. This is pathetic fallacy taken to a new stratosphere.

Downpour at Sadie Coles HQ is open to the public until 24 May, 2025.

EXHIBITION AND FILM SCREENING

Step Into My Office at Photo Book Cafe

Since 2020, the world has seen a global shift in its working habits. What once meant dodging hundreds of other commuters at 8:30 BST to get to your 9:00am meeting is now a short commute from bed to desk, sans pyjamas, plus slippers. And yet, despite the fact 'WFH' has been widely adopted by many in and out of the city, our screens continue to be bombarded with programmes and soaps putting office life front and centre - from Ben Stiller's Severance to the HBO series Succession. Does this mean we're currently experiencing collective nostalgia for office culture? London-based brand This Belongs To seems to think so thanks to their new collaborative short film and images series with photographer Rosie Bell and filmmaker Phineas Sajous Step Into My Office, debuting at Photo Book Cafe Thursday 10 April. Touching on the use of styling and set design to question how our evolving relationship with the office environment aids or inhibits different personalities, Step Into My Office couldn't be more current. Scrap 'WFH', think The Office but make it fashion.

Step Into My Office at Photo Book Cafe premieres on Thursday 10 April at 18:00.

EXHIBITION

DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR at the Gilbert & George Centre

What enters your mind when you think of the artist duo Gilbert & George? Youth? Absurdity? A violently vibrant clash of colour? What about all three? If you're familiar with the artists' THE 1984 PICTURES series, you would be wise to expect such a divine blend of characteristics as realised in the now iconic quadripartite picture DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR, which may form part of the Tate's permanent collection but for a short time only - is back where it belongs - at the Gilbert & George Centre, forming the backbone of the gallery's next exhibition of the same name opening 16 May. Since being founded by the art couple in 2023, the Gilbert and George Centre has sought to express the 'fundamentals of human existence' - with this new exhibition strengthening this manifesto: like father, like son, right?

DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR at the Gilbert & George Centre opens to the public on 16 May.