Media release
ES DEVLIN: FACE TO FACE: 50 ENCOUNTERS WITH STRANGERS
A RECREATION OF THE ARTIST’S STUDIO INCLUDING A NEW EDITION OF HER CONGREGATION INSTALLATION AND PAINTED LED AND PROJECTION-MAPPED PORTRAITS
Curated by Ekow Eshun, in partnership with The Courtauld, King’s College London, UK for UNHCR
Somerset House 23 November 2024 – 12 January 2025
ES DEVLIN: FACE TO FACE: 50 ENCOUNTERS WITH STRANGERS is a new exhibition at Somerset House which includes an edition of CONGREGATION, the large-scale installation Devlin created in partnership with The Courtauld, King’s College and UK for UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, curated by Ekow Eshun at St Mary Le Strand in October this year.
The exhibition’s first room contains a replica of the artist’s studio. The second presents a new edition of her projection-mapped Congregation installation. In the third Devlin will show a series of new works including painted LED screens and projection mapped portraits. The exhibition is presented within the West Wing of Somerset House, directly accessible from the courtyard.
FACE to FACE: 50 Encounters with Strangers is free and open to the public 10am till 6pm daily from Saturday 23rd November until Sunday 12th January 2025.
The exhibition title, FACE to FACE: 50 Encounters with Strangers, alludes to the 1969 essay ‘Totality and Infinity’ by French philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas, which explores the forces at work during any face to face encounter.
Over a period of four months, 50 strangers arrived, one by one, at Devlin’s studio in South London. She knew only their first name and that, at some point in their life, they sought refuge in London. She made chalk and charcoal portraits of each participant, carrying out the first 45 minutes of the drawing session without talking, and without any knowledge of her sitter/co-author’s story or circumstances. After 45 minutes the drawing was paused while the co-author told Devlin their story. She then resumed the drawing and completed the work while listening to podcasts about the conflict from which her sitter sought sanctuary.
Each portrait sitter became a co-author of the work. Each is depicted holding a gift, a box containing a projected animated sequence which they have invited Devlin to envisage. The co-authors constitute a vibrant London congregation whose roots extend across the globe to Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania, Chile, Venezuela, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Germany. They range in age from 18 to 93; some arrived decades ago as small children, some arrived a few years ago on small boats.
The studio in which these encounters took place will be recreated at Somerset House including all 50 original chalk and charcoal portraits in progress as well painted studies, books, notes and research materials as well as time lapse and documentary footage exploring Devlin’s process. A number of her early sketched portraits of friends, family and strangers and herself will also be included, some of which date back to the early 1990s.
In a separate room, the drawings will be presented as a projection-mapped tiered structure similar to the one shown at St Mary Le Strand church in October.
The sound installation, by London composer duo Polyphonia, includes poetry by the Kinshasa born poet JJ Bola (also featured in the portraits) and extracts from Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the soundtrack to the drawing sessions. It culminates in a reworking of Anton Bruckner’s sacred motet Locus Iste (This Place) which fuses the voices of the London Bulgarian Choir, The South African Cultural Gospel Choir UK, Genesis Sixteen and The Choir of King’s College London.
The projected film sequence has been created in close collaboration with film maker Ruth Hogben and choreographer Botis Seva and features dancer Joshua Shanny- Wynter.
Devlin and curator Ekow Eshun are responding also to their research into The Courtauld’s origins, established by a descendent of Huguenot refugees, and the origins of King’s College London as a Sanctuary university which continues to provide bursaries to refugees, as well as Somerset House’s location on the Strand, an ancient processional route from east to west, a foundational migratory artery of the city since AD93.
Ekow Eshun has written an introductory essay to the work which is featured in the accompanying Courtauld publication – 80% of the price of each catalogue is donated to UNHCR UK, the UN Refugee Agency.
Devlin’s approach to making the portraits is rooted in a visit to Lucian Freud’s sketchbooks in the archive of the National Portrait Gallery, and in her research within The Courtauld’s collection of 500 years of portraiture from Albrecht Dürer to Frank Auerbach.
Es Devlin said: “Having shown Congregation for a week at St Mary Le Strand in October, I am grateful for this opportunity to revive for two months not only the installation, but also the process that went into making it. I’m keen to share with visitors the studio where 50 face to face encounters with strangers took place that profoundly changed me. These Londoners’ stories of dignified resilience made me proud to call myself a Londoner too: pride with a fierce undertow of grief: grief that it had taken these encounters to awaken such pride.
“I was moved in 2022 by the generosity of spirit with which we, as a country and as individuals, offered support to those displaced by the war in Ukraine. I wanted to understand why we have not yet been drawn to show an equivalent abundance of support to those displaced in comparable circumstances from other countries including Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and many more. I went to UK for UNHCR to learn more about the numbers and contexts of the 117 million people currently displaced globally.
“I began each portrait without knowing my sitter/co-author’s story. For the first forty- five minutes I was drawing a stranger: I was drawing not only a portrait of a stranger, but also a portrait of the assumptions I inevitably overlay: I was drawing my own perspectives and biases. I was trying to draw in order to better perceive and understand the structures of separation, the architectures of otherness that I suspect may stand between us and the porosity to others that we are capable of feeling when these structures soften.”
Courtauld Publications and Editions
The Courtauld has published an accompanying catalogue which is available to purchase at The Courtauld shop for £25, of which £20 will be donated to UK for UNHCR.
The Courtauld has also created a set of limited edition prints and postcards of the work in support of UK for UNHCR
Professor Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director of The Courtauld, said: This is a wonderfully ambitious and innovative project, and we are thrilled that is has been informed by Es Devlin’s experience of our extraordinary collection. The Courtauld is always looking to collaborate with today’s most interesting artists, and to stay true to our founder Samuel Courtauld’s ideal of ‘art for all’. It has been a delight to work with Es, and to see her remarkable vision for Congregation being fulfilled in such a spectacular way.”
Emma Cherniavsky, Chief Executive of UK for UNHCR, said: “We are honoured to be working with Es Devlin on this project and so grateful for her commitment and dedication to all those forced to flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution.
“Congregation is an incredible opportunity for refugee co-authors to share their stories with London in a new way. We are excited to see how visitors will respond and hope the installation will inspire more support for and solidarity with refugees here and around the world.”
King’s College Sanctuary Programme
In parallel to the installation, the Sanctuary Programme and The Policy Institute at King’s, will be holding public events and policy development discussions with leading researchers on asylum and migration policy. These will be presented as part of a wider season, Lost & Found: Stories of sanctuary and belonging, developed and curated by King’s Culture.
Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President (International, Engagement & Service) King’s College London, said: “As part of King’s commitment to serving society, it is inspiring to see this visionary work by Es Devlin connecting so closely with our pioneering Sanctuary Programme, which promotes social justice and supports refugee students, as well as the work that The Policy Institute is leading around international attitudes to human migration. Societal impact sits at the heart of King’s research practice as does community engagement across London and internationally. The Lost & Found creative programme, produced by King’s Culture, will provide impact, engagement and visibility for these vital areas of enquiry.”
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
About Es Devlin
Artist Es Devlin (born London 1971) views an audience as a temporary society and often invites public participation in communal choral works. Her canvas ranges from public sculptures and installations at Tate Modern, V&A, Serpentine, Imperial War Museum and the Lincoln Centre, to kinetic stage designs at the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as Olympic Ceremonies, Super-Bowl half-time shows, and monumental illuminated stage sculptures for large scale stadium concerts. She is the subject of a major monographic book, ‘An Atlas of Es Devlin’, described by Thames & Hudson as their most intricate and sculptural publication to date, and a retrospective exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. In 2020 she became the first female architect of the Pavilion at a World Expo, conceiving a building which used AI to co-author poetry with visitors on its 20 metre diameter facade. Her practice was the subject of the 2015 Netflix documentary series ‘Abstract: The Art of Design’. She is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, University of the Arts London and a Royal Designer for Industry at the Royal Society of Arts. She is the recipient of the London Design Medal, three Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, an Ivor Novello Award, doctorates from the Universities of Bristol and Kent and a CBE. She has just been awarded the 2025 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
About The Courtauld
The Courtauld cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at The Courtauld Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces – such as Van Gogh’s Self- Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. It showcases these alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, The Courtauld faculty is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and carrying out research on subjects from creativity in late
Antiquity to contemporary digital artforms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, The Courtauld offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
The collection cared for by The Courtauld Gallery is owned by the Samuel Courtauld Trust.
About Ekow Eshun
Ekow Eshun is a writer and curator. He is Chairman of the Fourth Plinth, overseeing Britain’s foremost public art programme, and the former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Described by Vogue as “the most inspired – and inspiring – curator in Britain”, his acclaimed exhibitions include In the Black Fantastic at the Hayward Gallery, for which he was awarded the Association for Art History’s Curatorial Prize 2023 and The Time Is Always Now, at the National Portrait Gallery, a major study of the Black figure and its representation in contemporary art. He is a contributor to publications including the New York Times, Financial Times and the Guardian and the author of books including Black Gold of the Sun, shortlisted for the Orwell prize for its exploration of race and identity, and Africa State of Mind, nominated for the Lucie Photo Book Prize. His latest book, The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them, was published in September.
About UK for UNHCR
UK for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner for the UK. We build solidarity, create partnerships and raise funds across the UK to help deliver global humanitarian relief for refugees through UNHCR’s work.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. Operating in over 130 countries, it delivers lifesaving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights, and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality.
UK for UNHCR is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1183415).
About King’s College London
King’s College London is amongst the top 40 universities in the world and top 10 in Europe (THE World University Rankings 2024), and one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities. With an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research, King’s maintained its sixth position for ‘research power’ in the UK (2021 Research Excellence Framework). King’s has more than 33,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide and 8,500 staff. Since its foundation, King’s students and staff have dedicated themselves in the service of society. King’s will continue to focus on world-leading education, research and service, and will have an increasingly proactive role to play in a more interconnected, complex world. Visit King’s website to find out more about Vision 2029, King’s strategic vision to take the university to the 200th anniversary of its founding https://www.kcl.ac.uk/
King’s Culture brings together King’s researchers, students, artists, cultural partners and community groups to develop creative programmes that inspire and instigate conversation and action. You’ll find our free exhibitions, events, screenings and talks across two King’s sites: Science Gallery London on Guy’s Campus, just steps away from the Shard, and across the pedestrianised streets and public spaces of the Strand Campus. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cultural
This work has been made possible by the very generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Interviews with Es Devlin about the making of the work are available on the Bloomberg Connects App.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies works to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people by focusing on five key areas: the arts, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. Encompassing all of Mike Bloomberg’s giving, Bloomberg Philanthropies includes his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works with mayors in cities around the world.
Mike Bloomberg has committed the vast majority of the profits from Bloomberg L.P., the global financial technology, data, and media company that he founded in 1981, to support the work of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg Philanthropies works to improve the lives of millions of people in more than 700 cities and 150 countries. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $3 billion around the world. Over his lifetime, Mike has so far given $17.4 billion to philanthropy.
Very generous support in kind has been provided by the following suppliers and fabricators: LarMac, Stage One, 4Wall, Treatment Studio and VYV