At Xxijra Hii in London, Morphogenesis emerges as an expansive meditation on transformation—both biological and conceptual.
Co-curated by Gertrude and Xxijra Hii, the exhibition brings together ten artists whose works navigate the instability of identity, materiality, and narrative formation. Borrowing its title from the process by which organisms develop new structures, the show functions as a living system, where artistic practices overlap and evolve. Across media—painting, sculpture, video, and installation—the artists chart the dissolution and recombination of cultural and personal histories, inviting viewers into a realm where forms remain in flux.
The exhibition unfolds through a range of aesthetic and conceptual strategies. Timothy Hon Hung Lee’s delicate, layered compositions wrestle with heritage and selfhood, while Bo Lanyon’s corporeal abstractions entangle physicality with emotion. Theo Ellison’s multimedia interrogations of mythos and Reb Sangster’s digitally warped figuration question the fragility of identity in an era of hyper-mediation. Carl Anderson’s ceramics juxtapose strength and vulnerability, subtly undermining traditional notions of masculinity. Meanwhile, Rosemary Jane Cronin’s uncanny sculptures engage with gender and psychoanalysis, invoking a surreal, shifting subjectivity. Fi Isidore’s intricate marquetry foregrounds theatricality and tactility, whereas Emma Tod’s densely worked canvases blur the temporal, capturing ephemeral states of being. Marcus Jefferies reconfigures architectural forms as sensorial experiences, while Lera Kelemen’s immersive installations translate bodily fragility into spatial encounters.
Together, these artists construct an exhibition that resists fixity, favoring instead an ecosystem of interwoven ideas and forms. Morphogenesis is not simply an investigation into change—it enacts change, situating contemporary art as a site of perpetual mutation. Through this collaboration, Gertrude and Xxijra Hii foster a vital space where experimental practices converge, demonstrating the potential of collective vision in shaping new artistic trajectories.
