Exhibition
Shezad Dawood. Leviathan
6 Jul 2019 – 13 Oct 2019
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 11:00 – 17:00
- Sunday
- 11:00 – 17:00
- Tuesday
- 11:00 – 17:00
- Wednesday
- 11:00 – 17:00
- Thursday
- 11:00 – 17:00
- Friday
- 11:00 – 17:00
Address
- School Lane
- Liverpool
- L1 3BX
- United Kingdom
Shezad Dawood’s epic film series Leviathan comes to the gallery, alongside a number of textiles and neon works.
About
Taking inspiration from both Thomas Hobbes’ book Leviathan and the biblical sea monster of the same name, Dawood’s Leviathan follows the migratory patterns of people between Europe and Africa, who are often making the crossing as refugees. The film explores the connection between mass migration and marine conservation, in particular how the turbulent journeys made by human migrants mirror the tumultuous ecological changes in the sea over which they travel.
This timely exhibition combines the themes of marine biology, climate change, political systems and mental health, to show how human activity and marine ecologies are intertwined.
The exhibition also features a new interactive virtual reality work which explores what the future may hold for marine biology, in a world heavily affected by climate change.
Dawood intends Leviathan to eventually consist of ten film ‘chapters’, and Bluecoat will exhibit the first five chapters in the series, making it the most complete UK presentation ofthe work to date. The presentation will also include the UK premiere of chapters four and five. The first two chapters of Leviathan premiered at Venice in conjunction with the 57th Art Biennale. The work has developed, been adapted and grown across exhibitions and screenings in Wales, Netherlands and Italy before reaching Bluecoat for this major exhibition charting Dawood’s ambitious project.