Elisabeth Efua Sutherland and Andreas Mallouris in residence at D6

Elisabeth Efua Sutherland in residence at D6

-Connections and entanglements-

Elisabeth’s research is driven by a desire to map stories, bodies and mythologies, and to examine the visibility (or lack thereof) and curation of black and African histories across time.

During her residency with D6: Culture in Transit in Newcastle, UK, Elisabeth immersed herself in local history – mapping interconnecting stories of black and African people who visited the city or made it their home. Drawing on local archives, architecture, walking tours and sites of remembrance, she started to explore the possibilities of creating an embodied map of black experiences located in the city. And in doing so, explored the politics of visuality, and the legacies of extraction, materiality, wealth, displacement and coloniality.

In the process of research with collaborators and communities, and the presentation of work in progress, connection and community come into being – where stories and narratives are shared and told again, offering an alternative to those withheld, silenced and discarded by colonialism. This is further grounded by Elisabeth’s performance and body based work, which with the shared experience, gives a place for black lives of the past to be ever entangled, abundant and experienced in lived culture today.

Andreas Mallouris in residence at D6

Andreas Mallouris joined D6 as one of the Contested Desires artists in residence in Newcastle this November, exploring ideas of vulnerability and care centring on queer lived experiences. The legacy of British imperialism has and continues to profoundly impact the lives of queer people around the world. And for LGBTQI+ people seeking safety and refuge in the UK, the British legal system adds a further layer of hostility.

Andreas asks: ‘How possible is it to decolonise each molecule of institutional perception around our individuality?’

Andreas got to know local LGBTQI+ networks in Newcastle, including the queer gardening collective TopSoil. In an open studio at D6 he presented thinking from these conversations and work spanning sculpture, drawing and photography.

His use of handmade soap and dried rose stems, for example, bring the viewers attention to a tactile immediacy, a oneness with human needs but also the fragility of the human experience: ‘How can we fit into the universe as visceral, spiritual, emotional, molecular and sensational beings?’ he asks.