Infinite Past, Infinite Future and NOW: Laima Leyton

11 January - 31 December 2021

  • Everything Grows From Darkness

    On Hannah Arendt: THE Crisis in Education

    10 August - 18 September 

  • To accompany Richard Saltoun Gallery's 'On Hannah Arendt: Eight Proposals for Exhibition', Laima draws on her multifaceted identity as a producer, musician, activist, artist, mother and teacher to create eight unique sound pieces in response to each exhibition in the programme and each chapter in Arendt's book. Titled collectively as Infinite past, infinite future and NOW, the works together engage with themes of time, culture, truth and spirituality.
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    You hold, we keep, you keep this state of being.
    And I grow, I grow, I grow.
    You hold, you keep, you keep this state of being.
    And I grow, I grow, I grow
    We hold, we keep, we keep this state of being.
    And I grow,  you grow, I grow, you grow.
     
    Disease of repeat.
     
    Where do you come from?
    Eu venho do escuro.
    De onde voce vem?
    I come from darkness.
     
    Disease of repeat.
    the power must grow, if it doesn't grow, it rots.
    Disease of repeat.
    Disease of repeat.
    the power must grow, if it doesn't grow, it rots.
    Disease of repeat.
     
    If it doesn't grow, it rots.
    Disease of repeat.
    You hold, we keep, you keep this state of being.
    And I grow, I grow, I grow.
    You hold, we keep, we keep this state of being.
    And I grow, I grow.
    We hold, we keep, We hold, we keep, 
    We hold, we keep, We hold, we keep.
  • 'Everything that lives emerges from the darkness and (...) needs the security of darkness to grow at all' - Hannah...

    "Everything that lives emerges from the darkness and (...) needs the security of darkness to grow at all" - Hannah Arendt. Be it the womb or the soil; darkness is the state of being of growth. In "Everything Grows from Darkness", Laima is inspired by holding and keeping the telluric realm to allow expansion, while the outside world repeats its patterns, where nothing is new, disease of repeat. 

     

     
  • Rooted in the São Paulo contemporary art scene, Laima's credentials in the world of music are firmly established as one...

    Performance at Richard Saltoun Gallery. Photo by Babycakes Romero.

    Rooted in the São Paulo contemporary art scene, Laima's credentials in the world of music are firmly established as one half of Mixhell alongside her husband Igor Cavalera and for her work with Soulwax. Her last work ‘Home’ is a conceptual double album released by DEEWEE in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory that revolves around the themes of routine, power, life and death. She has performed her music in people’s own homes, creating intimate spaces for audiences to reflect upon themselves, including a performance at Richard Saltoun Gallery in early 2020.  In 2021, Laima will explore opportunities where the audience can experience sound as a reflective and healing tool.

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  • We ARE HERE

    'On Hannah Arendt: What is Freedom?'

    15 June - 24 July 2021

  • We Are Here is Laima's fanfare response to Hannah Arendt's essay 'What is Freedom?’. 

     

    "We Are Here" is about being present for each other, being listened to, and listening to others. The music acts as a loop, resonating in one's mind. Is it the search for inner freedom or the assurance of outer freedom?"

  • NO PILOT

    'On Hannah Arendt: What is Authority?'

    26 April - 6 June 2021

  • No Pilot is Laima's fanfare response to Hannah Arendt's essay 'What Is Authority?'. 

     

    Authority is necessary but "authority" has been lost. What happens when there is no pilot? Maybe we drown, maybe we fall, maybe we find freedom. Rules are constituted to protect us all, but even then, is justice really made?

  • AMNESIA

    'On Hannah Arendt: The Concept of History'

    18 March - 16 April 2021

  • In the Ancient World, extraordinary events defined history with impartiality, clarity and objectivity. The shift of the Modern Age sealed history as a human-made process, where man's actions are processes that have an impact on the world, thus defining history.  Amnesia is about which actions have we been learning? Who are the humans that “make history”? Who are the humans that “make nature”? Who are the forgotten humans in this process?  Although history and music seem linear in time and space, I find that the beauty is that they transcend time and space into a non-linear existence connecting with memory and remembrance. Amnesia (αμνησία) and Hysteria (υστερία) are Ancient Greek words that I use to play with language and sounds, inciting the power of memory and its lack.

  • Lack Of

    'On Hannah Arendt: The Modern Age'

    11 January – 26 February 2021

  • Lack of is a dreamy and meditative piece inspired by the idea that science unsettles truth since it is based on doubt and mistrust. Without passing judgement on this idea, Lack of ponders the losses and gains of this ‘lack of tradition’ or ‘lack of truth’ and suggests that, ultimately, the truth sits inside each one of us.