Sue Tompkins' 'Milk, Gluck, Handel, Fame' Opening and Performance

About

Opening reception: Tuesday 23 January, 6:30- 8:30pm at DKUK,
with performance at Four Quarters at 9pm
Dates: Wednesday 24 January - Sunday 25 February 2018
Open: Wed - Sun, 12-6pm 

Working with fragments of language gathered from everyday encounters and experiences, Sue Tompkins uses the spoken, written and sung word to explore those aspects of speech that get otherwise lost in the glut of everyday conversation. By drawing from a collection of what at first glance appear to be odd and singular words or phrases, these fragments of text form the basis of Sue's artworks and performances. Whether spoken or sung, smeared with paint onto canvas, or typed onto magazine paper, Sue uses language in a deceptively simple and direct fashion to create work that is lyrical, personal and provocative. 

Responding to the salon environment as a site of conversation and exchange - where clients spend time waiting, reading and chatting - Sue's exhibition will comprise of a series of new paintings, a little series of handmade texts to be read in the salon chair, along with two sound works to have as optional listening material while having your hair transformed. 

NB: The opening of the exhibition will take place at DKUK on Tuesday 23 January, 6:30 - 8:30pm, followed by a free performance of Sue’s new live work ‘Mob de Mob’ at Four Quarters from 9pm. 

Sue Tompkins (b. 1971, Leighton Buzzard) lives and works in Glasgow. She graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1994, and has been involved in exhibitions and performances worldwide including solo exhibitions at The Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow at Glasgow International; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; Inverleith House, Edinburgh; Spike Island, Bristol; and Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis.

Tompkins was shortlisted for the Beck’s Futures Prize in 2006, and received the Paul Hamlyn Award in 2011. She was vocalist for the indie rock band Life Without Buildings. 

DKUK has been operating in Peckham for three years. At DKUK paying clients get their hair cut in front of art. Realised by artist/hairdresser Daniel Kelly, DKUK provides a platform for engaging diverse audiences with contemporary art in the welcoming environment of a hairdressing salon. 

DKUK is supported by Arts Council England.