JAKOB ROWLINSON

Joining us on the project in January 2022, Jakob Rowlinson continued his exploration of medieval queer ecologies. In his practice Rowlinson employs collage processes to draw together greenery, medieval figures and modern-day elements to present queer retellings of histories and popular narratives. Whilst with us on the project, these took the form of three stained felt on board works and a digital cotton weave tapestry. The felt works are painstakingly hand cut and layered onto felt covered boards, where each placement is carefully considered by Rowlinson. In a nod to medieval medicine, local herbs and ferns have been used to stain the collaged fabric in delicate natural hues. This staining process holds a symbolic role, referencing the 'marks of dishonour' formally ascribed to homosexual men in medieval heraldry.

Rowlinson’s tapestry Dazed in the Forest (2022) began with a digital collage process before being sent away for weaving. The Tapestry features Characters from The Sword and the Stone, The Jungle Book, Hercules and Sleeping Beauty, re-drawn and cut together by Rowlinson. The hypnotic snakes of Rowlinson’s tapestry weave in and out of the rendered foliage, curling around Disney Horses and leaving trails of ‘drool’ in their wake. These snakes are shapeshifters, reworked to form each of their animated renditions, The Sword and the Stone’s ‘Mad Madam Mim’ becomes The Jungle Book’s ‘Kaa’. By cutting them together Rowlinson exacerbates their fluidity, and at points they seem to merge with the curling vegetation. The thick foliage and intertwining limbs hint towards gay cruising culture, intercepting the strict heteronormative narrative of traditional Disney.

Solo exhibitions include Visions of a Whispered Past, Quench Gallery, Margate, UK (2021); Made in Sweden, Tandsticksmuseet, Jonkoping, Sweden (2019); Dissecting the Archive, Clearview, London, UK (2017). Selected exhibitions include Under Your Spell, Collective Ending HQ, London (2021); Dreamlands II, OHSH, London (2021); The Artist’s Oracle, The White Crypt Gallery, London (2021); Peach Fuzz, The Factory, London (2021); Prick And Stitch, Standpoint Gallery, London (2021); The Birthday, The White Crypt Gallery, London (2020); Don’t Touch Me, Newcombe House, London (2020); P3, Visions In The Nunnery, Bow Art, London (2018); Parlour Geometrique, Chiswick House, London (2018); FLIPSIDE, Fold Galley, London; Foley, MuddyYard Space, London (2018); Past, Battersea Powerstation, London (2018); amongst others.