Zachari Logan: Unkraut vergeht nicht

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Press release  

Zachari Logan  

Unkraut vergeht nicht  

June 11 – July 22, 2023  

Opening event: Sunday 11 June 2 - 4 pm  

For MOCA London Zachari Logan is making a large drawing installation directly on the gallery walls from his ongoing  Nomenclature series. This series of site-specific wall drawings takes its title from the scientific language of choosing  names for any number of things we encounter in our world. Historically, this naming has been defined by patriarchal  forces, ones that have often sought to exclude, among other things, queer experiences of the world.  

This exhibition’s title Unkraut vergeht nicht, a German proverb that translates in English to “Weeds don’t vanish” and  is double-edged in the context of this exhibition. It is used when someone perseveres against adversity, who does not  give up, and in the end succeeds- but it can also liken that person to a weed, a troublesome out of place plant. A  weed is something not wanted, that is to be ‘pulled up’. In itself, any plant is perfectly fine, but humans see particular  plants as unnecessary because they are not what we desire for our own consumption. Weeds: rather queer little  plants are (ironically) understood to be ‘invasive.' Why do weeds always have to shout their weediness, can’t they just  hide in the background, keep to themselves, why do they always have to show off? Logan says that he often draws  “these species and the liminal spaces in which they inhabit as stand-ins for the queer body and queer spaces that  remain resistant to monocultures and thrive on the margins.” Among other things, Logan’s work questions the  structures at play within society that enforce certain exclusivist beliefs, to the detriment of many. For those few, our  bodies are all but weeds, out of place, a nuisance- maybe one that is needed to do a job as consumer or worker but  held in little or no esteem. Logan reminds us that as weeds, we should hold our heads up high like a bright dandelion  growing through a crack. 

Logan began his Nomenclature Series at the onset of the Covid pandemic. This was period of intense introspection  for many people around the globe, when the contemplation of one’s mortality and impermanence were common  currency. Few instances in life will such a major mental shift be forced upon humans so uniformly. This shift was  coupled with an equal transformation of timelines that allowed for the deeper observation of self, both personal and  societal. Like all good contemporary still life, these works remind the viewer of death, but not as something to fear,  but as an encouragement to enjoy each and every day of living. For this process, Logan draws directly onto the gallery walls in graphite, only for these gestures to soon to painted over, increasing the viewers connection with the temporal  realities of a time-based life and the ever approaching end to it.  

In Logan’s own words about this series, “Each individual botanical is named in its rendering, coming into being through the  recollection of past observations; a personal classification of visualized memory. These graphite drawings in silhouette are  meditations on the ephemeral qualities of existence and perception of time. We are here and then we are gone- a notion the  pandemic brought to the fore of my practice in relation to image and material. The drawings are meant to exist physically for a short period of time and then be covered over; in effect to haunt the walls.” 

At the opening reception of Unkraut vergeht nicht, Zachari Logan and MOCA London have partnered with  wearable artist edition brand Old-Age for the release of Logan's most recent collaboration with the label. Old Age have created artist edition clothing for Paul Mpagi Sepuya, the Tom Of Finland Store, The Alvin Baltrop  Trust and Derek Mainella amongst others.  

The Muscle Memory tee features Logan's own botanically inspired typography, spelling the phrase 'Muscle Memory',  a multi-layered phrase linking conceptually to this ongoing series of temporary drawings. These tees will be available  June 11th and throughout the exhibition. 

The Nomenclature drawing series, central to this exhibition, is rendered in graphite though reference to past experiences of  looking, observing, drawing and redrawing beyond count, the flora (weeds) that make up the central imagery in this  exhibition. Drawing is intimately linked to bodies; the bodies of viewers and of the creator. Zachari Logan 

Old-Age Label  

“Giving has been a core value of the OLD - AGE brand since its inception, donating a portion of our profits to a  rotating group of charities. Since we established the brand in 2018, we have given to The Southern Poverty Law  Center, Human Rights Watch and Trussell Trust”. 

https://www.old-age.info/zachari-logan-capsule 

https://www.moca.london/zacharilogan 

IG: @moca_london 

@zachari_logan 

@old.age.label 

For further information please contact the curator: 

Roberto Ekholm at roberto.ekholm@mocalondon.co.uk,  

00447957444473