Candy Bedworth 11 November min Read. Image courtesy Ikon. Photo by David Rowan. Contemporary Art. Art History Get there if you can, but otherwise, enjoy our selection of the top 10 works celebrating friendship in all its guises.
Ikon Gallery is known for exciting and expertly curated exhibitions. Their newest presentation explores the meaning of friendship in contemporary life using video, sculpture, painting, photography, and textiles. Defining friendship is difficult, and its meaning and relevance change through time. Are friends just people who offer us benefits? Or are they our best selves offering each other trust and affection? Is friendship unconditional—or can friends become critics and enemies?
The artists in this exhibition consider how society, politics, culture, and social media influence friendships. Not just as individual humans, but across species—maybe your dog is your most trusted friend?
And not forgetting nation-state diplomatic friendships—how might cultural organizations work together across the globe? Also a curator, director, and TV producer, his photography captures the simple and poignant moments in ordinary lives that are of course extraordinary. Her work focuses on genuine connection and collaboration within communities, especially with mothers and children.
Her Clipping The Church processional performance brought together a neighborhood in Erdington, Birmingham with a re-enactment of a forgotten English tradition, weaving in Central and Eastern European heritage.
