Eliyah Mesayer and Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation), The People Who Came From The Sea (Installation view). Photo: Brian Kure.
Press Release, January 2022
Brigade is proud to present The People Who Came From The Sea by Eliyah Mesayer and Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation).
United by a shared interest in addressing systemic problems within current models of citizenship Mesayer and Harrisonâs collaborations primarily takes form through the Illiyeen Project â a conceptual nation for stateless people proposed as an alternative to the social structures that leave excluded people in a position of unique precarity. The exhibition highlights both artistsâ individual practices, as well as their collaborative social projects, such as Illiyeen, T.N.G. and the Mesayer Foundation. The exhibition provides a comprehensive view into the two artists nuanced and co-operative work to-date.
Working within a fluid yet cohesive visual language, Galvin Harrisonâs body of work is instantly recognisable in itâs expression and format. Still, as a natural consequence of Harrisonâs practice his output can take many forms and his works ranges from sculptures and paintings to installations and prints. The material fluidity of Harrisonâs work integrates perfectly into his collaborative practise produced under the banner of Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation), which is a community-based project initiated by Harrison in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, where locals are engaged in the conception and production of Harrisonâs art, while finding new communities and shared modes of expression.
Eliyah Mesayer, 50 Illiyeen Uniforms, 2021 (Linen fabric, cord, cardboard box 172 cm x 109 cm x 70 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer, White Illiyeen Uniform, 2022 (Linen, string, cardboard box, red rose, paper, envelope, ink 30 cm x 19 cm x 19 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer, The Speaker's Cape, 2022 (Silk fabric, fringes). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer and Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation), The People Who Came From The Sea (Installation view). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer, Illiyeen Wreath, 2021 (Hay wreath, dried linseed, feathers). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer, Illiyeen Wreath, 2021 (Hay wreath, dried linseed, feathers). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayer, Illiyeen Uniform , 2022 (Linen fabric, string, wooden brick, engraved 30 cm x 19 cm x 9 cm. Edition of 50). Photo: Brian Kure.
Eliyah Mesayerâs practice is primarily expressed through an alchemical tradition, especially that found in the treatises of Jabir ibn Hayyan (721-815), better known as Geber â The Father of Chemistry. Inspired by Geberâs processes for investigating and exposing the principles of its subjects, one outlet is her mesmerizing alchemical works on paper, where she creates visual interferences by combining chemical processes with light. However, Mesayerâs alchemy isnât limited to these formats, but also extends itself into poetry, installation and performative works. Like Geber, Mesayer works as an alchemist in search of chemical reactions between different poles, placing her focus on the transformation when the two meet.
Eliyah Mesayer and Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation), The People Who Came From The Sea (Installation view). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla I, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 72 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla I, 2021 (Detail). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla II, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 105 cm x 45 cm x 42 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla V, 2021 (Detail). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla V, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 65 cm x 25 cm x 33 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla II, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 105 cm x 45 cm x 42 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
A focal point for both Mesayer and Harrison is the fictional state of Illiyeen, a state for the stateless, which both engages Mesayerâs heritage, but also seeks a form of alchemical change by artistically balancing itself on the dynamic threshold between reality and fiction as well as fact and imagination. It is the language of alchemy understood in its very broadest sense, including and inviting its audiences to become part of the alchemical reactions themselves.
Eliyah Mesayer and Galvin Harrison + T.N.G. (The Next Generation), The People Who Came From The Sea (Installation view). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla IV, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 78 cm x 26 cm x 44 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla VII, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 100 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla III, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 95 cm x 27 cm x 37 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla IX, 2021 (Detail). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla IX, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 80 cm x 22 cm x 38 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla X, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 115 cm x 45 cm x 42 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla XI, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 95 cm x 30 cm x 28 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla XII, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 49 cm x 27 cm x 27 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Illiyeen Flotilla VIII, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 88 cm x 30 cm x 27 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Continuously seeking a positive change Mesayer has also founded The Mesayer Foundation, to which she, her collaborator Galvin Harrison and Brigade donates part of the proceeds of their art to. The Mesayer Foundationâs main objective is to provide free legal and consulting services to stateless people and help them obtain the citizenships that will afford them the rights they have been denied so far.
Galvin Harrison, F, Art Seosamh Ă GrĂobhtha, 2021 (Wood, paint, seashells, clay, stone 148 cm x 62 cm x 87 cm). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, F, Art Seosamh Ă GrĂobhtha, 2021 (Detail).
Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison, The Messiah Sculpture, 2021 (Wood, paint, sound, tape recorder). Photo: Brian Kure.
Galvin Harrison (b. 1956) is an Irish artist and currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. He holds an MFA from Camberwell School of Art in London. Eliyah Mesayer (b. 1987) is a Danish/Bedouin artist and currently lives and works in Copenhagen. She graduated from the Jutland Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. Harrison and Mesayer have previously exhibited their joint project Illiyeen with SMK, Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, Kunsthal Aarhus and Copenhagen Contemporary.
Exhibition period: 20 January - 26 February, 2022.
Opening hours: Mon-fri: 8am-6 pm, Sat: 10am-4pm.
More info: www.brigade.site