Burned House Horizon

Overview

Burned House Horizon looks at the Neolithic civilisation known as Cucuteni-Trypillia to process trauma in the present time via contemporary myths, communal rituals, ancestral healing & speculative fiction. This civilisation inhabited the lands of present-day Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, but its history remained largely uncovered until the fall of the Soviet Union. The Cucuteni-Trypillia lived in circular settlements (shaped as the rings of a tree section) and were excellent potters, who created painted vessels, astronomical calendars, anthropomorphic figurines and pottery miniatures that were connected to the veneration of land and fertility, solar-lunar cycles and goddess-centred spirituality. Mysteriously, they were also cyclically burning down their houses, leaving behind only clay sculptures. Our exhibition is named after this extensive phenomenon, which archaeologists called ‘Burned House Horizon’, and its concept is inspired by finding relations with (and learning from) this civilisation.

With these ancestors as guides, the exhibition expands its horizon to a transnational scale by inviting artists from across the globe to see themselves as ‘future ancestors’ who will leave artistic gestures and traces behind, for future generations. The exhibition will therefore act as a ‘time capsule’ where the public will enter a speculative future time in which they will find the archaeology of a queer, transnational community that created works based on intimacy, shared intents and healing, spiritual practices. All the works have been created specifically for this exhibition and as a result of a residency that we conducted at the Bidston Observatory Artistic Research Centre (October 2024) and a series of community workshops held at QUEERCIRCLE (November 2024).

Departing from the Cucuteni-Trypillia, we will move through experiences of homelessness, displacement and (forced) migration alongside the transformative potential of home-making, kinship formation and land-based spirituality from a queer perspective. We aim to connect (spiritually and materially) with queer communities from countries hit by wars or civil unrest - with their consequent displacement - and, most crucially, with those directly affected by the war in Ukraine. Similarly, many queer and trans people have had to leave their homes, past lives and memories to find freedom in painful yet regenerating processes of self-affirmation. Because of the difficulties in finding a place in society, many queer and trans people also live in poverty or are homeless. Together, we attempt to start healing intergenerational trauma with creativity, and in dialogue with this ancient civilisation’s offerings, to create personal and collective fabulations in response to the traces and the silences that are left behind.

In this speculative archaeological site of future ancestrality, we will find interactive installations and works created by the seven artists that are part of this show, together with the pottery figurines of queer deities that were created by the many participants that took part in our ritual clay-making workshops: specifically, Eastern European & Central East Asian queer communities (via United Queerdom) and queers affected by homelessness (via The Outside Project), among other LGBTQ+ participants. In response to what the exhibition is moving within you, visitors are encouraged to bring an object they could leave in the space in return for a protection charm.

Artists:

Byuka aka Fortune Tailed Beast, Alex Hincapié, Ayshe-Mira Yashin, Gisou Golshani, n:u (fka melissandre varin), Sym Stellium, V(A)

Curated by Giulia Casalini & Byuka aka Fortune Tailed Beast