Birdsong and a bathroom is a solo presentation of artworks at LUX, London, with exhibition subjects explored further through a series of public events.
Birdsong and a Bathroom explores the legacy and life of a housing estate, founded in 1924, through a community of past and present residents during its centenary year. The exhibition considers how the estate and its community have navigated survival, tenant led activism, housing and homes, and the enduring impact of chronic housing issues in a critically altered environment, as well as the depletion of council housing stock. The centenary of the estate coincides with the centenary of 16mm film and the estate was also where Circles, the feminist film distribution network (now Cinenova) was founded. Circles operated from curator Felicity Sparrow’s flat during the 1970s. The exhibition comprises digital and 16mm film, oral history recordings, estate archive papers and photographic work.
The events included a living history workshop led by Alia Syed, and a screening of films from Cinenova followed by an in-conversation on the subject of the exhibition between Anne-Marie Copestake and Cinenova Working Group member, curator Louise Shelley, presented in collaboration with the Holly Lodge Community Centre. Cinenova’s founding organisation Circles was established on the Holly Lodge Estate in 1979.