Sense, Nonsense

The last few years have unbalanced the world, dominated as they have been by climate change, epidemics, inequality and digital disembodiment. Do we perceive our environment differently in these times? Are we less connected to our senses and thus to the physical world? Should we care? The philosopher Michel Serres suggests that our soul is situated in our skin – the organ that facilitates touch, hearing, taste and smell - for this is where we encounter the world. He believes society’s ocular-centrism is an impediment to holistic intelligence, so perhaps we should care.

Most of us are trying to find meaning in the ongoing global confusion and we believe art has a role in this journey. We believe an art gallery is not separate from, but integral to, real life and should thus put before people objects that are not only visible, but touchable, audible, smellable, (and maybe even edible?). Sense, Nonsense is an exhibition that allows participants to experience the work and relate to the gallery space with their whole bodies, not just their eyes. We think if we were more ‘in touch’ with all our senses rather than being detached observers of the world through vision alone we might care for its wonders more deeply.

We need all our senses to make sense of the world, or it is nonsense.

In this Articulate exhibition Jane and Szilvia provoke our visual and tactile senses, and at the opening African drummer Phillippe Lincy will rouse our aural senses. It will be lots of fun!