The heart is deceitful above all things
22 May–26 July 2015
HOME
2 Tony Wilson Place
First Street
Manchester M15 4FN
Artists: Jeremy Bailey, Declan Clarke, Douglas Coupland, Irina Gheorghe, Flaka Haliti, Ragnar Kjartansson, Basim Magdy, Gemma Parker, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Jessey Tsang and Wu-Tsang
Accompanied by a specially curated film programme including a regional film premiere by Phil Collins and UK premieres by artists Rosa Barba and Stanya Kahn
HOME is delighted to present contemporary group exhibition the heart is deceitful above all things, the first in a year of visual art exhibitions, projects and publications exploring the theme of Transactions of Desire. What is passion, what is ambition and what motivates our desires and manipulates our relationships?
Co-curated by Sarah Perks, Artistic Director: Visual Arts, HOME, and Omar Kholeif, Senior Visiting Curator, HOME, The heart is deceitful above all things takes inspiration from Ödön von Horváth’s classic and influential play Kasimir and Karoline—also adapted for the world premiere of HOME’s theatre production The Funfair by leading dramatist Simon Stephens (from 14 May).
The exhibition title evokes feelings of love and loss in uncertain times, and the work in the show explores heartache, breaking up, disenchantment and the dark side of the funfair, while examining the actions of the protagonists in von Horváth’s play and drawing parallels between their world and where we are today.
Sarah Perks commented: “If there’s one thing everyone has in common it must be heartbreak. The heart makes us suffer like no other organ and it often seems to both collude with us and betray us equally. It doesn’t matter if all of these exciting artists and works are new to you; because I’m fairly sure you’ve had your heart broken at least once.”
Omar Kholeif added: “Our first exhibition at HOME is indicative of the breadth and scope of the visual arts strategy ahead. It is cross-art form, interdisciplinary and inter-generational in its approach and ambition. We present new commissions alongside some of the most significant figures in art’s history, whilst also exploring new ways to narrate exhibitions to audiences locally and internationally.”
The heart is deceitful above all things is accompanied by a spectacular film programme featuring UK and regional premieres and a new site specific piece for HOME’s interior spaces by London-based artist Magda Archer.
The heart is deceitful above all things forms part of HOME’s visual art strategy to re-present classic and influential films as contemporary group exhibitions. It also forms an unofficial trilogy with SAFE (November 15) and IMITATION OF LIFE (November 16), two exhibitions that explore the perceived dichotomy of the personal and private against the political.
A new publication edited by Omar Kholeif and Sarah Perks, titled Transactions of Desire, will be published alongside the exhibition. It will feature a collection of romantic short story fiction with contributions by Judith Barry, Douglas Coupland, Andrew Durbin, Lynne Tillman and Emma Unsworth.
