Past: Moments in Time
Exhibition Dates
3rd February - 30th May 2022
Free Space Project is delighted to announce their new exhibition ‘Moments in Time’ bringing together artists Iko-Ojo Mercy Haruna and Lucy Levene. Conceived as a two-person exhibition, it features powerful, dynamic images capturing fleeting moments in parenthood, highlighted in the chosen title. Despite varying in composition and scale, the photographs foreground the shared aspects of the artist’s practices: the visualisation of often private moments in parenthood.
Iko-Ọjọ Mercy Haruna, known as Mercy is a portrait and documentary photographer dedicated to capturing the fleeting moments of family life. She focuses on stories that capture the beauty of the everyday as well as those that dive into deeper conversations about the complexities of motherhood. Her on going project “This is Home” documents the daily life of her British-Nigerian family in and around the home in Kent, since 2017. Inspired by photographs she would have loved to see of her own childhood, the images capture their connection as a family -the fleeting, unposed moments of life between the big milestones we’re accustomed to recording. “Offspring“ aims to create space for Black mothers in the UK to share their stories related to the physical and psychological changes that come with the transition into motherhood. The photographs of more visible physical changes like stretch marks, wrinkles or scars serve as a backdrop for visualising and discussing less obvious physiological changes and mental health issues that are taboo or tend to be swept under the carpet..
Lucy Levene is a London based artist & Photographer. Her series, ‘How Long is Forever?’ is a collection of collaborative portraits made with families in and around Kentish Town. The series draws on her own experience of motherhood, ‘Lying in bed with my partner, my first baby and my cats, I was aware of feeling tangibly and deeply happy. I decided to record that moment, which I felt nostalgic for even as it was happening’. The families are shown asleep in bed, photographed from above. ‘Before becoming a parent, the message that I received from those around me was that parenthood is relentless; that a part of me would be lost. I wanted to make a piece of work that depicts the physical and emotional intimacy of parenthood in an authentic way and to communicate to people considering parenthood that it can also be overwhelmingly joyful and funny and full of love’. Parenthood is the most extraordinary of ordinary experiences that is shared, regardless of background, race or community. ‘How Long is Forever?’ hopes to cut across these boundaries and to show this commonality.
Guided Exhibition Tours for groups will be running
Please contact us for more information
Watch our Artist Talk with Mercy Haruna and Lucy Levene about the exhibition below:
Check out the 360° Virtual Tour of the exhibition:
Click on the icons to navigate yourself around and click onto each image to view
This is an online version of a physical handout which accompanies Mercy Haruna’s works within the exhibition space. The booklet is split into two with titles and insights of her works. ‘Offspring’ particularly contains touching stories from the subjects involved. The projects objective is to create space for Black mothers at any stage in their journeys to share their stories without fear of judgement as their anonymity is preserved.