Mercer Union is thrilled to host the Canadian launch of two new editions and a publication by Sukaina Kubba!
Join us in celebrating the arrival of these new works, and the conclusion of Kubba’s 2023-24 SPACE billboard commission, from 4-6pm. Refreshments are on the house and all are welcome!
About the Editions, Afterfeather
These limited-edition laser etchings were produced by artist Sukaina Kubba and Dundee Contemporary Arts to coincide with Turn Me Into a Flower (2024), Kubba’s first major exhibition in a UK institution.
This pair of black laser etchings are based on a tracing Kubba drew of a document at the Stoddard-Templeton Design archive at the University of Glasgow. Their archive drawers house Victorian era tracings of Persian and other ‘Oriental’ rugs made by the designers at the Stoddard-Templeton factory. The archives mark a historic moment in the colonial appropriation of traditional crafts from British colonies into mechanized manufacture in Scotland.
The drawings depict Iranian flora and fauna (such as poplar trees, Caspian tigers and nightingales) and common rug motifs such as the medallion. By etching almost to the full depth of the dark black Somerset paper, the images visually alternate between a velvety and a lace-like texture, harking back to the textiles imitated by the Stoddard-Templeton designers.
Part of a pair, these prints are available individually or as a set.
About the Publication, Turn Me Into a Flower
This publication brings together texts commissioned by Mercer Union and DCA for our respective exhibitions with Kubba in 2024. For Kubba’s year-long SPACE commission, Jealousy, she created three consecutive new works for Mercer Union’s billboard platform, two of which were subsequently shown in her exhibition at DCA. With the support of the British Council Scotland, Creative Scotland and the Québec Government Office in London, DCA has brought together five texts commissioned by both galleries into a single space.
The publication includes a new poem by Glasgow-based poet and writer Daisy Lafarge, and an interview between Kubba and Montreal-based artist and curator Swapnaa Tamhane. These bookend three texts commissioned by Mercer Union to accompany Kubba’s billboard series, from Ami Xherro, Natascha Nanji and a second poem from Daisy Lafarge. It also contains a preface by DCA’s Head of Exhibitions, Tiffany Boyle, and full colour images of Kubba’s exhibition at DCA.
