South, London
Group Exhibition
Into the Bliss
Studio VoltaireImmanuel Adelowo, Donald Fasanya, Nicky Harris, James Heath, Charlotte Maclean, Ibrahim Okeyere Keelson Studio Voltaire is pleased to present a collaborative exhibition by six artists. The artists are all members of Action Space and work together every Thursday at the organization's South London hub at Studio Voltaire. Orchestrated by Adelowo, the artists work collectively to explore space as an otherworldly cave for the audience to engage. The space is conceived as a labyrinth, using draped fabrics and painted wallpaper as dark, strange backdrops within which individual artworks play characters telling stories of superhero lairs, wild animals, and mystical ceremonies. Into the Bliss grows from themes central to Adelowo and Heath's practices, including storytelling and destinations, their own travels, global histories, and imagined sites. Each artist responds through painting, sculpture, and sound to build an immersive environment. Fasanya's paintings and drawings explore natural and human worlds, combining figuration with subtle elements of the magical, whilst Harris' portraits of superheroes envisage the exhibition's themes through cultural references such as Batman's cave or Superman's fortress of solitude. Keelson and Maclean's abstract paintings and floating forms evoke crystals within rock formations, dripping water, skies, and landscapes. Sound design and assemblages by Heath add further multisensory layers to the space, mining imagery of ships, flashing lights, and deep woods. The environment functions as an interconnected ecosystem, where the boundaries between individual practices dissolve into a shared sensory world. ActionSpace supports artists with learning disabilities and creates innovative projects for people with learning disabilities to engage with visual arts. ActionSpace has four professional art studios in North, South, East, and West London. They nurture artists through an ongoing programme of supported studio sessions led by a team of specialist artist facilitators. ActionSpace works with each artist on an individual basis to develop creative and professional development opportunities and support them to develop and maintain thriving artistic practices. To create a specific atmosphere, the space has low lighting and low-volume sound. There are fabric panels dividing the space, which visitors are invited to move around to see more of the artworks. We want everyone to enjoy this space comfortably. If the current environment presents a barrier for you, please let a member of our team know. We are happy to adjust the lighting, pause the audio, or clear space between the fabric panels to make your visit more comfortable.