GRAY MATTER

‘THE LAW IS A WHITE DOG:

HOW LEGAL RITUALS MAKE AND UNMAKE PERSONS’ BY COLIN DAYAN

“My ICA show takes a lot of inspiration from The Law is a White Dog in its exploration of bunker spaces and the ongoing threat of apocalypticism – the uncertainty of the end that is coming or may have already come. Dayan shows how institutions like prison attempt to place people into a zone of non-existence, which has really influenced how I am exploring the violent and sinister side of spaces within spaces.” 

‘RIB TOUCHES’

A SCULPTURE BY JACK O’BRIEN

“Jack is a close friend of mine and a brilliant artist. This piece, ‘Rib Touches’, is the first artwork that my partner, Asa, and I bought together. It’s really important to me to invest in my friends’ work, particularly experimental work. As someone who works in lots of different mediums, I know how difficult it can be to sell work, especially when the piece can’t just be hung straight on the wall. Sadly, in the art world, collectors often buy young artists’ work with the sole intention of reselling it. We joke with Jack about making loads of money out of our ‘investment’. But we would never actually do it – we bought the piece because we love it and want it to be a part of our life.”  

‘QUERELLE’ AND 

‘WORLD ON A WIRE’

BY RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER

“My exhibition features altered images of the sun from Querelle, a film 

that was shot using only artificial light. The result is a kind of eerie, permanent sunset that feels apocalyptic but also suspended in time. World on a Wire, meanwhile, is a science fiction series about simulation, which is also a major theme of the ICA show. On one hand, I am exploring the historical legacy of the Cold War and practices of nuclear preparedness. Yet I’m also interested in simulation on a more intimate level, thinking about how ordinary human interaction plays out according to certain scripts.”

THE ‘LOVE AND THEFT’

AND ‘THEFT AND LOVE’ DIPTYCH

SHOWN AT MY SOLO SHOW, ‘LOVE AND THEFT’ WITH GALLERY 12.26 WEST IN FEBRUARY 2023

“This piece began with two colours: Falu red, the earthy tone typically used to paint barns; and chroma-key green, used for green-screen filming. It’s also reminiscent of the unnerving sheen of a perfectly manicured lawn. I painted these colours on disassembled shopping bags from the quintessentially American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. The idea was to draw attention to what lies behind an idealised national identity. The Bruce Weber photographs also evoke the homoerotic undertones of normative masculinity.”

DINNER BY YINKA OGUNBIYI AND ALISTAIR DEBLING

“Two of my close friends, Yinka Ogunbiyi and Alistair Debling, are both chefs (Yinka is also a biomechanical engineer, and Ali is also an artist). Ali is the head chef at The Farmer’s Arms – an artist-run pub, residency and ceramics studio in the Lake District. Last Thanksgiving, Yinka joined him as a guest chef, and a group of us came up from London for the weekend. Their menu was an incredible jerk celeriac, pickled green mango salad and sticky ginger toffee pudding with sweetcorn ice cream.

Yinka and Alistair are going to be designing and cooking the menu for my and Asa’s wedding later this year.”

INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS, LONDON

“My first institutional solo show, The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low, opens at the ICA in September, so it is a very important place to me (and somewhere I’m spending a lot of time right now!). By sheer coincidence, I am also getting married there in December, which we booked before even knowing about the show.”

MY VERSACE SHIRT

“In September 2021, Asa and I attended a wedding together in New York. A few hours before we were supposed to arrive, we managed to find this gorgeous shirt at Procell, a vintage store on the Lower East Side. It’s sheer, glittery and yet still has a masculine fit. Asa wore it to the wedding – we later heard through the grapevine that a very fashionable friend of ours was texting people saying that Asa was ‘best dressed’ at the wedding. Much to my chagrin!”

Don’t miss: Versace at The Corner Shop in Selfridges London, 4–30 September 2023.

ASA SERESIN

GRAY’S PARTNER IN LIFE AND LOVE

“As well as being the love of my life, Gray is my collaborator in pretty much everything and the secret author of many of my ideas. Gray is the single most beloved person I have ever met – everyone adores him – but I am very proud of being the one who loves him the most!”