Who cares for who and in what way?
- Florentina Cercel
- Apr 28, 2022
- 2 min read
By Florentina Cercel
An open invitation to take care.
A revolutionary series of eight radio broadcasts on the BBC between 1957-64, which focused on worker’s experiences and struggles through a fusion between song, music, sound effects and communities’ voices, has influenced four new ballads exhibited at the Serpentine North Gallery, that have been produced as a result of twelve years of austerity and dismantling of the UK care sector.
Radio Ballads, as showcased by the artists Sonia Boyce, Helen Cammock, Rory Pilgrim and Ilona Sagar, presents new film commissions, paintings, drawings and other significant materials that share the same collaborative research process.
Selected from the Serpentine Gallery, in order of appearance, pictures are part of 1.Sketch Book. Courtesy of andriesse-eyck galerie; 2.RAFTS, Barking and Dagenham Youth Dance, Production Still, 2021. Photo: Matthew Ritson; 3. RAFTS, Green Shoes Arts, Production Still, 2021. Photo: Jessica Omovon.
“I think the exhibition is really important to me because often as an artist working in social engagement for work that we produced doesn't necessarily enter the gallery space, it means a lot to me that this work has been platformed in a way where people can see it over a long period,” said 34-year-old artist, Rory Pilgrim.
Amal Khalaf, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Rory Pilgrim in conversation. Credit: The Serpentine Gallery
“It means a lot to exhibit with the other artists and to be part of that conversation around what socially engaged art is.”
The collaborative work presented in this exhibit hints at the point of strength, vulnerability, and difficulty facing the unknown, in the social care services and community setting in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Turner-Prize award winner and collaborating artist to Radio Ballads, Helen Cammock said “this idea of doing something with the lives, experiences and perspectives of people that didn't normally get to share them on a kind of massive platform, was extremely important to me.”
Helen Cammock, Bass Notes and SiteLines: The Voice as a Site of Resistance and The Body as a Site of Resilience. Production Still, 2022. Photo: Holly Smith.
“I suppose in many ways is what I am trying to do with the work that I make,” she added
Pilgrim who has a care worker background, hopes people’s take from this project is to not feel alone.
“It’s important to have a space where you can connect with others and work through something in your life through creating,” he added
“Art is an incredible space for everyone, it allows you to externalize what's going on inside you so then you can comprehend it more.”
Radio Ballads will be available for viewing until the 29th of May, tickets are free available on the gallery’s website.
Find out more about the artists’ collaboration and Radio Ballads and their work, through the Serpentine Gallery’s platform.
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