ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
House of Leather, dir. Jamison Rockmore, 28 min.
The ICA partners with Tom of Finland Foundation to present the premiere of Jamison Rockmore’s House of Leather, followed by a panel discussion with artists in residence at the Tom of Finland Foundation.
Set at the bohemian commune where famed erotic artist Tom of Finland lived and worked, House of Leather follows two queer artists from Asia and a Trans artist from Michigan, visiting for summer residencies. As these young heroes explore their creative identities in the context of gay history, the multi-generational community rallies to protect their safe place, advancing Tom’s legacy of freedom in a modern era.
The screening is followed by a panel discussing with James Davison, Stuart Sandford and Gray Wielebinski, moderated by Joshua Graham.
Set at the bohemian commune where famed erotic artist Tom of Finland lived and worked, House of Leather follows two queer artists from Asia and a Trans artist from Michigan, visiting for summer residencies. As these young heroes explore their creative identities in the context of gay history, the multi-generational community rallies to protect their safe place, advancing Tom’s legacy of freedom in a modern era.
The screening is followed by a panel discussing with James Davison, Stuart Sandford and Gray Wielebinski, moderated by Joshua Graham.
Gray Wielebinski (b. 1991 Dallas, TX, USA) lives and works in London, UK. In Wielebinski’s expansive practice, incorporating installation, video, drawing, performance, collage, sculpture, and more, he explores intersecting themes of power, nationhood, desire and memory. The process of collaging runs through his practice in many forms – reconfiguring and transforming iconography and visual codes, his work interrogates dominant frameworks and belief systems and proposes alternatives. Continuously attentive tothe fraught status of American mythology and landscape, his recent work has focused on surveillance, strategy, and secrecy, particularly as these intersect with questions of gender, sexuality, and the social.
Recent exhibitions include: group shows at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, UK; Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, London, UK; Francois Ghebaly, Los Angeles, CA; Gio Marconi Gallery, Milan, IT; Bold Tendencies, London, UK; and V.O Curations, London, UK. Recent solo exhibitions include: Wielebinski’s first institutional solo exhibition The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low at ICA London, Fratricide at Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles, CA, Love and Theft, 12.26 Gallery in Los Angeles, CA; Oil and Water, Hales Gallery in London. Recent residencies include Tom of Finland Foundation, V.O Curations, City and Guilds in London and at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong. His first book 100 Baseball Cards was published with Baron Books in 2022 and his second book The Red Sun is High, The Blue Low was printed by the Institute of Contemporary Art, London in 2023. Wielebinski’s work is in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Library & Archives, CA, and the Benton Museum of Art, Claremont, CA.
James Davison is a multi-disciplinary artist based in London, known for his work in analogue and digital mediums, focusing on exploring the human form and character. Recent projects include commissions for Selfridges, The Design Museum and the Folies Bergeres, Paris. He was an artist in residence at The TOM House in 2022. James is also co-founder of ‘SketchSesh', a queer life drawing project that collaborates with designers and artists to produce elevated drawing sessions. Past collaborators include Versace, The National Gallery and The Tom of Finland Foundation. He lectures at London College of Fashion and Middlesex University.
Stuart Sandford is a multidisciplinary artist based between London, Los Angeles and Mexico City. Working across (and often combining) different media, including photography, sculpture, painting, moving image, and installation, he has exhibited his work widely in galleries and museums around the world, most notabley at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and Centre de la Photographie, Genève. His work has been featured in numerous publications and appears in many notable collections including the Sir Elton John Photography Collection, the Ömer Koç Collection, the Rennie Collection and the collection of the Tom of Finland Foundation. Sandford undertook his residency at TOM House in 2014 and for a number of years was the AIR coordinator.
Joshua Graham is a fashion writer based in London. As the Fashion Features Editor at Nick Knight's SHOWstudio his work explores the evolving landscape of menswear through the lens of queer art and culture. Drawing on his experience with the digital editorial teams at Vogue and Selfridges, Graham merges style and social commentary to celebrate diversity and challenge traditional narratives.
Recent exhibitions include: group shows at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, UK; Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, London, UK; Francois Ghebaly, Los Angeles, CA; Gio Marconi Gallery, Milan, IT; Bold Tendencies, London, UK; and V.O Curations, London, UK. Recent solo exhibitions include: Wielebinski’s first institutional solo exhibition The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low at ICA London, Fratricide at Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles, CA, Love and Theft, 12.26 Gallery in Los Angeles, CA; Oil and Water, Hales Gallery in London. Recent residencies include Tom of Finland Foundation, V.O Curations, City and Guilds in London and at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong. His first book 100 Baseball Cards was published with Baron Books in 2022 and his second book The Red Sun is High, The Blue Low was printed by the Institute of Contemporary Art, London in 2023. Wielebinski’s work is in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Library & Archives, CA, and the Benton Museum of Art, Claremont, CA.
James Davison is a multi-disciplinary artist based in London, known for his work in analogue and digital mediums, focusing on exploring the human form and character. Recent projects include commissions for Selfridges, The Design Museum and the Folies Bergeres, Paris. He was an artist in residence at The TOM House in 2022. James is also co-founder of ‘SketchSesh', a queer life drawing project that collaborates with designers and artists to produce elevated drawing sessions. Past collaborators include Versace, The National Gallery and The Tom of Finland Foundation. He lectures at London College of Fashion and Middlesex University.
Stuart Sandford is a multidisciplinary artist based between London, Los Angeles and Mexico City. Working across (and often combining) different media, including photography, sculpture, painting, moving image, and installation, he has exhibited his work widely in galleries and museums around the world, most notabley at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and Centre de la Photographie, Genève. His work has been featured in numerous publications and appears in many notable collections including the Sir Elton John Photography Collection, the Ömer Koç Collection, the Rennie Collection and the collection of the Tom of Finland Foundation. Sandford undertook his residency at TOM House in 2014 and for a number of years was the AIR coordinator.
Joshua Graham is a fashion writer based in London. As the Fashion Features Editor at Nick Knight's SHOWstudio his work explores the evolving landscape of menswear through the lens of queer art and culture. Drawing on his experience with the digital editorial teams at Vogue and Selfridges, Graham merges style and social commentary to celebrate diversity and challenge traditional narratives.
06:30 pm
Tue, 08 Oct 2024
Cinema 1
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Cinema 1
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