Exhibition: 14–26 September 2024 • London
T he fine arts have long been a discreet yet integral thread in FKA twigs’ creative output: her second album, MAGDALENE, was inspired by Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting of the same name which hangs in London’s National Gallery; after a chance encounter with Tracey Emin at the age of 19, twigs wrote a song, My Bed, as a homage to the artist, and subsequently they developed a pen-pal relationship, which inspired FKA twigs as a young artist. twigs also spent time with Marina Abramović at the eponymous Institute, and the music video for Don’t Judge Me was filmed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Other videos and performances are rich with art historical references.
This September, FKA twigs, the visionary musician, dancer, and multi-disciplinary artist, will unveil a major new work of art at Sotheby’s in London. Staged over two weeks in Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries, The Eleven will bring twigs’ fiercely independent creative vision to the forefront of the contemporary art scene.
The Eleven is a durational artwork, conceived by twigs and performed by a rotating group of eleven ‘movers.’ The piece, developed by twigs over many months, is a physical and artistic quest for self-healing, rooted – in part – in her decades spent in movement practice, somatic healing technique and by implementing conscious action on repeat. twigs herself will participate alongside a changing cast of special guests. They will embody the method and record in real time the changes they feel in their mind and body.
FKA twigs has always been a creative force of nature, consistently pushing the boundaries of music, movement, video, art, and performance in her work. With The Eleven, she continues to explore new artistic territories, affirming her place among the most innovative and exciting artists working today. This will also be a step into uncharted territory for Sotheby’s, which has never presented an artwork of this kind in its 280-year history.
The opening of the exhibition will coincide with the release of twigs’ first single in four years and anticipates her much-awaited new album EUSEXUA. The inspiration and guiding force behind both the artwork and the album is the feeling of ‘Eusexua’, a term coined by twigs – who has a love of creating new and playful words to describe things with no previous nomenclature – to capture a state of profound clarity and creativity.
“It’s that feeling of when you’ve been dancing all night and you lose seven hours to music… and you think, ‘oh my gosh, it’s eight in the morning and last time you looked it was one... A moment of pure clarity when everything moves out of the way, everything in your mind is completely blank, and your mind is elevated… that’s Eusexua.”
–FKA Twigs
Reaching that state of Eusexua is what the performance at Sotheby’s is all about: dealing with, and overcoming, through a series of healing somatic movements, the eleven aspects of life that twigs has found are most critical to her well-being.
Location:
34-35 New Bond Street, London
East Gallery
Hours:
Monday–Friday | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM
Saturday–Sunday | 1:00 PM–4:30PM
FKA twigs will be participating in The Eleven on Thursday, 26 September from 10:00 AM–4:30 PM. It is free to enter and no ticket is required. Everyone is welcome to experience The Eleven on its final day.
Register Your Interest Here
