Bluecoat history is inspiration for new autumn exhibition

Liverpool’s Bluecoat is presenting a group exhibition involving the work of six artists this autumn.

Breathe, spirit and life is at the landmark School Lane venue until January 29.

Curated by guest curator Kathleen Kai Li Liu, the exhibition takes as its starting point the venue’s own history as an early 18th Century charity school founded with the proceeds of the Transatlantic trade in enslaves African people.

It features the work of Soojin Chang (in collaboration with Georgie Rei-n Lo, Jade O’Belle and Aditya Surya Taruna aka Kasimyn), Sulaiman Majali, Thunlani Rachia, Roo Dhissou, Kiara Mohamed Amin and Emii Alrai.

The show repurposes the gallery as a communal space for cleansing, detoxification and purification as a collective decolonial healing process. Together, the artists explore ideas in relation to Taoist practice of self-cultivation, meditation, rituals, and harmony with nature.

Breathe, spirit and life runs at the Bluecoat until Sunday, January 29.

Image: Roo Dhissou, Jharu Wali 2022, Performance Documentation