Artist and photographer Heather Agyepong's exhibition at London's Doyle Wham Gallery plunges us into her inner self to explore the shadow archetype according to Carl Gustav Jung's analytical psychology.
Since 2009, this British-Ghanaian photographer, performer, actress and designer has been exploring themes of mental health, well-being, invisibility, diaspora and archive in her work. With the exhibition "Through Motion", unveiled at Doyle Wham Gallery in London, Heather Agyepong looks back over the last three years of her multidisciplinary practice in two works.
The first is a ground-breaking video performance, The Body Remembers, centered on the principles of self-directed movement therapy - the principle is to move one's body without choreography in front of an audience - accompanied by interviews with black British women recovering from trauma. This contextualization of her own reparation process is the starting point for her interesting photographic series EgoDeath.
Between light and shadow
This second work, presented at the gallery, continues the artist's exploration of the body as archive. Ego Death invites us to an introspection of the artist's inner struggles, examining the notion of "shadow" according to the personality theories of Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961).
The Swiss psychiatrist defines it as "something inferior, primitive, maladjusted and misguided, but not absolutely evil", and reminds us that "there is no light without shadow". Heather Agyepong thus undertook a long personal process of writing and painting to capture seven self-portraits that embody every aspect of her shadow through movement.
"Exhibiting these two bodies of work side by side for the first time is an opportunity to reflect on and revisit in particular the therapeutic role that movement plays in my work. [...] The act of looking back, as well as looking inwards, is both vital and necessary to move forward," she explains.
Inspiration from the cinema
For this series, Heather Agyepong drew inspiration from cinema, notably Barry Jenkins' Moonlight for the blue color palette, and the characters in Jordan Peele's Get Out. By her own admission, this is the first time she has incorporated elements of popular culture into her visual creative process. This work is both "a tribute to the impact these works have had on her psyche and a testament to the increasingly holistic nature of her artistic practice".
And no wonder. For the past fifteen years, this virtuoso, nominated for three Prix Pictet and Foam Paul Huf awards, has been constantly expanding her range as an actress in television, film, theater and on streaming platforms such as Netflix.
His works, imbued with symbolism, continue to question the limits of the self, consolidating his place in contemporary thought, both personally and universally.
"Through Motion"
Doyle Wham Gallery
91a Rivington Street, London (England)
Until March 22, 2025
