THE SERPENTINE Gallery in London will be exhibiting emajendat, the first-ever UK exhibition by the acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey and supported by Dior.
The exhibit will run from 11 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. The gallery will endure a haven-like transformation into an immersive “funk garden,” omitting the light of South Central Los Angeles and bringing it to Kensington Gardens.
Halsey is most known for her vivacious and maximalist installations, she has developed a unique visual language rooted in the material culture of her South Central neighbourhood. Over the past decade, she has meticulously archived and redone the signs, slogans, and symbols from her community, taking profound inspiration from local businesses, street activism, and urban settings.
Halsey’s work melds history with the present and the future. Doing so by intrinsically exploring the rich iconography of African diasporic cultures, ancient Egypt, and funk’s opulent and sonic visual aesthetics.
At the very heart of Halsey’s practice is the honouring of her community’s resilience.
As she explained, “I’m obsessed with material culture. My work is about documenting and remixing the ever-changing landscape of my neighbourhood and celebrating the stories of the people who live there”.
Her site-specific installation for the Serpentine, emajendat, hones aspects of her previous large-scale projects, including the 2023 Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roof Garden Commission and her 2024 Venice Biennale exhibition, Keepers of the Krown.
Lauren Halsey, land of the sunshine wherever we go II (detail), 2021, white cement, wood, and mixed media, 82 1/2 x 79 x 77 in. (209.6 x 200.7 x 195.6 cm). Courtesy Lauren Halsey.
These projects amalgamate Halsey’s architectural vision, often by incorporating motifs from ancient Egypt and reinterpreting them through a contemporary, community-driven window. Her ultimate goal? To create a public sculpture park in South Central Los Angeles.
In emajendat, visitors will be entering a psychedelic realm that will comprise both natural and urban elements. The gallery will be adorned with technicolored sand dunes, mirrored walls, and scaled-up recreations of figurines sourced from South Central swap meets. Plants, a live water feature, and sculptures decorated with heavily stylised nails will further set the mood of the space.
Serpentine CEO Bettina Korek describes this ethereal environment as “a celebratory and creative form of resistance to the gentrification of her neighbourhood.”
Serpentine Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist brings forth the vital convergence of London-Los Angeles, saying, “This exhibition brings to life Serpentine’s mission of building artistic bridges, offering Londoners a unique perspective on South Central LA’s visual culture.”
The show will also coincide with the release of a comprehensive publication by Rizzoli, designed by the late Virgil Abloh’s design studio, ALASKA ALASKA. The book will be featuring the contributions from celebrated artists and thinkers such as George Clinton, Harmony Holiday, and poet Will Alexander.
The exhibit has been curated by Lizzie Carey-Thomas and Chris Bayley and vows to be a memorable experience for London audiences, illuminating the new future of art.
by Alia Campos
Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA