Explore SHADOW-BAN, a SHOWstudio exhibition championing erotic art by defying global censorship and the restrictions placed on visual culture today.
Nick Knight and SHOWstudio Gallery announce SHADOW-BAN, an exhibition on illicit content in modern art, including existing and new paintings, sculpture, film, photography and performances by artists including Peter Saville, George Rouy, Ray Caesar, Oh de Laval, Emma Stern, Sonny Hall, Dinos Chapman, Michaela Stark, Miles Greenberg, Pierre Molinier, Nobuyoshi Araki, Simon Foxton, Harley Weir and Von Wolfe, together with a collaboration with the Tom of Finland Foundation.
SHADOW-BAN defies global censorship and the restrictions placed on visual culture today. Social media posts deemed explicit in nature - whether they are politically or sexually charged - are resulting in artists and creatives being shadow-banned by the morals of an algorithm. By definition, shadow-ban means to block (a user) from a social media site or online forum without their knowledge by making their posts and comments no longer visible to other users.
Bringing together a collection of artists united in challenging the suppression of illicit and taboo subjects by mainstream platforms, this exhibition invites the public to reassess how their own morality is shaped by societal pressures. SHADOW-BAN reconsiders the nature of what makes an artwork 'obscene' and the moral judgments which led us here.
Running alongside the annual Art & Culture Festival, SHADOW-BAN will feature a selection of works from Tom of Finland and 15 of Tom of Finland Foundation's network of Queer erotic artists. The Foundation's Artist-in-Residence program ensures support for the next generation of Queer erotic artists while promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality.
Established in 1984, the non-profit Tom of Finland Foundation protects, preserves and promotes the legacy of Tom of Finland and supports LGBTQ+ artists' creative freedom of expression.
Artists include Daffy of London, Daniel Austin Lopez, Enrique Agudo, Franko B., Gray Wielbinski, Mr Gruts, James Davison, JJ Guest, Kukasz Leja, Marc-Aurèle Debut, Olivia Sterling, Orpheus, Pol Anglada, Sal Salandra and Stuart Sandford.
SHADOW-BAN opens at the SHOWstudio Gallery, 22D Ebury St, Belgravia, London SW1W OLU, from September 19 - November 15, 2024.