Talks

Previous events · New findings & research at La Scatola, 1 Snowden Street, London EC2A 2DQ, and broadcasts on Resonance 104.4FM

1. 01

   26 October 2025

   Artist Talk with Sluice

   What is an Art Book? 4 · Space n.n, Munich

   During Super Book Weekend at Space n.n, Munich, Karl England of Sluice joined Keh Ng and Matthew Stock of The Modern Language Experiment for an artist talk on the nature of collaboration.

   The discussion drew on the long working relationship between Sluice and TMLE — across expos, galleries, biennials, publications and symposiums — and on the making of What is an Art Book? Volume 4, produced live over three days with more than 50 artists, writers and curators.

   • What is an Art Book? Volume 4

2. 02

   26 October 2025

   Peer Sessions Crit

   What is an Art Book? 4 · Space n.n, Munich

   Charlotte Warne Thomas and Kate Pickering of Peer Sessions led a crit of What is an Art Book? Volume 4 with local artists at Space n.n, Munich.

   Held as the finished book came together during Super Book Weekend, the crit examined the contributions on the wall and the positions an art book can occupy — theory, catalogue, printed exhibition, artwork in itself — opening the show to response and debate from Munich’s art makers.

   • What is an Art Book? Volume 4

3. 03

   2025

   The Conversations — Artist Talk

   H8H Space, Frankfurt

   During The Conversations at H8H Space, Frankfurt, Keh Ng, Tina Hage and Matthew Stock of The Modern Language Experiment joined the exhibiting artists for a public talk on the nature of collaboration.

   The discussion, held with a local audience, considered how the Frankfurt–London pairings were formed, what collaboration asks of artists and curators, and how dialogue across cities shapes the works on view.

   • The Conversations

4. 04

   8–10 October 2013

   Urban Encounters Radio

   Resonance 104.4FM · re-broadcast at Sluice Art Fair, London

   

   

   

   

   The Modern Language Experiment was invited to take part in Urban Encounters, a photography and urban cultures symposium initiated by Goldsmiths, University of London and Tate Britain. Part of Urban Photo Fest, initiated by Paul Halliday, it engaged with political and social issues surrounding materialities within the urban context through panels on Forensics, Objecthood and Disappearances.

   For Urban Encounters, TMLE collaborated with artist Leslie Deere to focus on the presence and absence of materiality in relation to images, cities, architecture and aesthesis. This took the form of three radio broadcasts on Resonance 104.4FM, developing a new mode for artistic exhibition through discussions with Ami Clarke, Carmen Billows, Celine Lunsford, John Drever, Mark Harris, Mark Jackson, Paul Halliday, Paul O’Kane and Steven Ball. The show was re-broadcast at Sluice Art Fair in October 2013.

   Episode one — Keh Ng hosted a conversation on the materiality of urban environments and the ways artists reflect upon them. Celine Lunsford of Fotografie Forum Frankfurt and Paul O’Kane discussed photography and capturing volume in urban environments; Mark Jackson of IMT Gallery and Ami Clarke of Banner Repeater considered audio, materiality and art practice from the perspectives of artist and gallerist.

   Episode two — Matthew Stock considered attempts to map and zone the city, drawing on Friedrich Engels, Charles Baudelaire and John Rajchman. John Drever discussed sound art and the composed use of the Dyson public toilet hand dryer; Mark Harris addressed the materiality of sound in urban environments; Carmen Billows and Steven Ball discussed London Seizure, a film-screening and discussion series responding to replacement, disappearance and loss in contemporary urban structures.

   Episode three — Leslie Deere mapped unusual places in London with particular attention to acoustic terrain and the sonic properties of place, using field recordings, musical passages, interview samples and soundscapes. The broadcast took inspiration from Brandon LaBelle’s Notes Toward a Sketch of a Sonic Body and R. Murray Schafer’s idea that an environmental world soundscape unfolds ceaselessly around us, making us both audience and composer.

   Commissioned artists produced two three-minute sound works for the broadcasts: Craig Cooper, Dorine Van Meel, Gordon Shrigley, Keh Ng, Matthew Stock, Maya Inbar, Mitra Saboury, Patrick Goddard, Robert Crosse and Sam Basu. The commissioned artists’ playlist was broadcast at Sluice Art Fair, featuring Craig Cooper, Dorine Van Meel, Gordon Shrigley, Maya Inbar, Mitra Saboury, Patrick Goddard, Robert Crosse and Sam Basu.

   Episode three featured Brandon LaBelle, Thecla Schiphorst, Savion Glover and Jo Howe. Episode two included John Drever, Carmen Billows and Steven Ball. Episode one included Paul O’Kane and photographic work by Karl Hermann Trinkaus, Andreas Gefeller, Peter Bialobrzeski, Michael Wolf, Doug Rickard, Stuart Franklin and Wolfgang Zurborn, as well as sound by William S. Burroughs, Pierre Schaeffer and Ami Clarke.

   • Listen: Episode one — Keh Ng
   • Listen: Episode two — Matthew Stock
   • Listen: Episode three — Leslie Deere
   • Listen: Artists’ playlist
   • Re-broadcast at Sluice Art Fair

5. 05

   20 March 2013

   Imagining a Re-synchronizing (The Phantom Twin)

   Art Talks and Tea · Bermondsey Project, London

   

   A screening and open conversation exploring collective creativity, the individual and the group, and how projects can imagine new social and political futures.

   Imagining a re-synchronizing (The Phantom Twin) considered the collective possibilities that present themselves when the individual is no longer treated as the basic atom of creative production.

   Beyond the experience of being a creative self, we are becoming increasingly attuned to multifaceted and dynamic creative generation issuing from collective entities. This creative matrix offers promising ground from which to think about social and political life, and to imagine ways of meeting the challenges of the future.

   In The Loneliness of the Project, Boris Groys suggests that social and political change can come about through the removal of the self by a sanctioned ‘loneliness’. The project creates a situation in which a socially sanctioned individual project becomes a justification for isolation: a position outside accepted social norms that demands an alternative.

   Groys’s idea of isolation through the project allows a socially acceptable shift that places the self out of sync, presenting a new future when it eventually re-synchronizes. This sanctioned loneliness suggests a movement beyond the confines of the contemporary and into a position held within the project: a position that imagines a new future.

   Recent stories such as those of Invisible Children activist Jason Russell and internet pioneer Josh Harris reveal the dynamics between the individual and the group within a project.

   The Modern Language Experiment presented artist videos and short documentaries as a conversation through which these ideas could be explored in greater detail, followed by an open forum between presenters and audience members. The event was made with madamewang.com and generated an Event Article for its forthcoming series.

   Film screenings featured Robert Crosse, Erica Scourti and Madame Wang. Documentary screenings included Kony 2012 and We Live in Public. Art Talks and Tea was curated by Caterina Lewis and supported by Crisis. The evening ran from 18:30 with film screenings, documentaries, conversation and an open forum.

   • Listen: Recording of the event
   • Imagining a Resynchronising (The Phantom Twin) at Arnolfini, 2014

6. 06

   16 February 2013

   Cuth — Critical Discussion

   Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow

   

   The Modern Language Experiment was invited to chair the Cuth critical discussion evening, curated by Gayle Meikle at Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow. The discussion, Exhibition-making expanded over time, was held within the gallery from 2pm until 6pm.

   The discussion unpicked themes connected to durational exhibition-making within the context of Cuth: the traditional model of exhibition-making of preserving the art object versus current trends of event-based and episodic curation; the consideration of proxemics in the creation and display of visual art; and the role and relationship of the viewer to the artwork and artist.

   Gayle Meikle introduced the theme of exhibition-making over time in the context of Cuth, TMLE presented examples from their own practice alongside historical references to durational exhibition-making, and the discussion was then opened to the rest of the participants, chaired by TMLE.

   Cuth was an exhibition curated in three stages: Virginia Hutchison, Ylva Trapp and Muscles of Joy. The theme underpinning the exhibition was intimacy and familiarity, and the consideration of the social study of proxemics in the presentation of the work — the idea of the exhibition expanding over time rather than space.

7. 07

   31 August–9 December 2012

   Sudo Document

   Lubomirov-Easton & Angus-Hughes Gallery, London

   

   Sudo Document was an educational programme giving access to the thoughts, ideologies and pedagogical studies of curators, artists and gallerists working independently and through UK institutions. The lectures were edited and broadcast online as an enduring reference document.

   The programme featured Mark Jackson, Cedar Lewisohn and Carlos Noronha Feio at Lubomirov-Easton, followed by Cathy Lomax, Colin Perry and Jon Cairns at Angus-Hughes Gallery.

   • View full programme
   • Mark Jackson recording
   • Carlos Noronha Feio recording
   • Jon Cairns recording
   • Cathy Lomax recording
   • Colin Perry recording

8. 08

   14 July 2012

   What is an Art Book? — Launch

   The Mews Project Space, London

   The launch of the publication What is an Art Book? took place on Saturday 14 July 2012, 4–7pm, at The Mews Project Space, 15c Osborne Street, London E1. The book is also available to buy at the Tate Modern bookshop, in the Art Theory section.

   An Art Book today can be seen to occupy various different positions including that of a piece of theory, a catalogue, a printed exhibition, a piece of art in itself, a supplement to a pre-existing piece. It can be a proposal for the future or an examination of the present or what has passed. What is an Art Book? is an investigation of what an Art Book is in terms of material and conceptual concerns.

   This is an ongoing collaborative project produced during the Artist Books Weekend held every year at The Mews Project Space. Artists, writers, curators, designers and other practitioners are invited to respond to the title of the project by contributing their interpretation of what an Art Book means to them and their practice. Each contributor can propose text, drawings, photographs, sculpture, performance, audio recordings, video or any other concept or theory, as long as it can ultimately be realised in A4 paper format and in black and white.

   Contributors: Adrianna Palazzolo, Alan Magee, Alice Bain, Aukje Dekker, Begona Morea Roy, Briony Anderson, Carlos Noronha Feio, Craig Cooper, D J Roberts, Dominic Paterson & Neil Clements, Gary Colclough, Gayle Meikle, Hanane Ech-Charif, Imogen O'Rorke, James Brooks, Jeremy Akerman, Jo Ying Ping, Joanna Greenhill, Kate Janes, Kate Terry, Keh Ng, Kirsty Buchanan, Kristian De La Riva, Lewis Biggs, Lee Maelzer, Liane Lang, Lizzy Whirrity, Maria Fusco, Mark Jackson, Martha Sophie, Mary Yacoob, Mashu Ru, Matthew Stock, Mikael Larsson, Neil Coombs, Nicole Wassall, Olga Raciborska, Paul O'Kane, Pure Evil, Sarah Ludemann, Satu Jokinen, Shane T Hall, Thibaut DeWolf, Tina Hage, Vera Tollmann, Waldemar Pranckiewicz, Warren Garland, Wassink Lundgren.

9. 09

   27 March 2012

   EXCHANGE

   La Scatola Gallery, London

   

   The Modern Language Experiment took part in EXCHANGE, curated by Valentina Fois at La Scatola Gallery, 26–30 March 2012. The TMLE talk took place on Tuesday 27 March, 7–8.30pm, at La Scatola Gallery, 1 Snowden Street, London EC2A 2DQ.

   Curators, artists and writers were invited to explore developments and trends in contemporary art. In this week-long series, speakers shared insights on their artistic and intellectual practices and discussed the propositions that propel them forward in unique ways.

   Matthew Stock and Keh Ng, along with Liane Lang, discussed their artistic practice in relation to ideas of narrative production. Other contributors included Giorgio Sadotti, Goldsmiths University of London, Gasworks, Triangle, FIVE YEARS, Sarah Maple and Beverley Knowles.

10. 10

    8 November 2011

    EAO Conference on Resonance FM

    Resonance 104.4FM, London

    The Modern Language Experiment was invited to be part of a panel discussion with representatives from diverse art organisations, discussing topics from the forthcoming Conference for Emerging Art Organisers, organised by ALISN. Broadcast 8–9pm, Tuesday 8 November, on Resonance 104.4FM.

    Guests: Nathalie Bikoro (Art Evict), Iavor Lubomirov and Jordan Dalladay-Simpson (ALISN), Ben Street (Director, Sluice Art Fair), Matthew Stock and Keh Ng (The Modern Language Experiment), Benjamin Sebastian and Bean (]performance s p a c e[), Debra Wilson and Chiara Williams (Directors, WW Gallery).

    ALISN is a non-profit collaborative arts organisation founded in 2007 by Jordan Dalladay-Simpson and Iavor Lubomirov as AF2012. It is a volunteer-run support network for emerging artists, working to find and provide exhibition spaces, strategic support exchange, networking opportunities and national and international artists' exchange opportunities.

11. 11

    26 September 2011

    Project Context — Event #01

    The Mill on Copper Lane, Walthamstow, London

    

    Event #01 featured The Modern Language Experiment at The Mill on Copper Lane, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow, London E17 7HA, on 26 September, 7–9pm.

    Practitioners presenting: Max and Chee-kit from Mobile Studio, and Esme Fieldhouse of Blueprint and Studio Weave. The Modern Language Experiment provided the platform for Project Context to engage in critical debate through discussions by leading people in the fields of curating, art theory and critical writing — plus architecture, education and peripheral subjects — of the works of two artists.

    The works were expected to be new, previously un-shown and perhaps even works in progress. These events are more than just the creation of a critical environment, but a site to develop an audience that can engage and develop lines of thinking that would otherwise not exist.

12. 12

    15–16 September 2011

    Who Are We Writing For?

    Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

    The Modern Language Experiment was invited to take part in a symposium exploring the strategies for communicating contemporary art in the public realm, co-produced by Amy Fung and Deveron Arts.

    To celebrate and complicate world-renowned Swiss artist Roman Signer's premiere of his new work, Transmissions from the River (Übertragungen aus dem Fluss), along the River Bogie in Huntly, Scotland, Deveron Arts presented Who Are We Writing For?, an intensive peer-led symposium addressing the state of critical art discourse and its role in the public realm.

    Sparked by Signer's seemingly simple, yet highly theorized oeuvre that defies any specific genre and discourse, Deveron Arts invited a select number of participants from across the UK, Europe and abroad to ask: can we be both critical AND publicly accessible when it comes to discussing contemporary art? From acute curatorial statements and strategic public outreach programmes to mass marketing materials, how are we interpreting, translating, advertising and elucidating contemporary art today? And who are we really writing for?

    Participants: Briony Anderson, Alice Bain, Claire Barliant, Lewis Biggs, Amy Fung, David Gordon, Moira Jeffrey, Michelle Kasprzak, Susan Mansfield, Jennifer Melville, The Modern Language Experiment, Neil Mulholland, Dr Dominic Paterson, Ine Poppe, Pat Scott, Vera Tollmann, Frances Williams, Sarah Yearsley, Charlotte Young, Claudia Zeiske.

13. 13

    19 April 2011

    Ines Rebelo and Olga Raciborska

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Ines Rebelo’s practice encompasses painting, drawing, installation and occasional collaborations. Her projects combine precision and rigour with a sense of endless effort, as if attempting to make sense of the world by empirical study.

    Olga Raciborska’s recent work focused on transformation and mutation: the interaction between two figures which, by touching, become one. She deconstructs and destroys source images to create new ones that remain open to various readings.

14. 14

    23 March 2011

    Jeremy Akerman and Gary Colclough

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Jeremy Akerman’s current works are paintings and photo collages. He studied at Goldsmiths College and the Jan Van Eyck Academy, and is one half of AD, an organisation dedicated to working with and publishing writing by artists.

    Gary Colclough’s practice encompasses drawing, sculpture and projections. Hand-drawn images are combined with diagrammatic wooden structures, sometimes incorporating 35mm slide projections, to explore the relationship between the tangible and the practice of seeing.

15. 15

    22 February 2011

    Paul O’Kane and Tina Hage

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Paul O’Kane: Art is precious, like a brimming bowl of clear water that you carry through a life across a crowded and hostile terrain. The photographic image — moving or still — provides a parallel biography, both unnerving and reassuring in its veracity and conviction.

    Tina Hage’s digital photography practice considers the relationship between the crowd and the individual, and how they are represented in mass media. She repetitively uses herself to re-enact contemporary photojournalistic and topical imagery.

16. 16

    18 January 2011

    Kristian de la Riva and Keh Ng

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    Kristian de la Riva’s images and animations focus on habitual patterns of human behaviour, where simplicity belies subtle layers of complexity. His minimal black-line figures are drawn from real footage, stripped of clothing and facial detail to become generic representations.

    Keh Hui Ng’s practice is concerned with the phenomenological experience of the everyday, looking at what makes things what they are and what gives an object its identity.

17. 17

    7 December 2010

    Matthew Stock and Kirsty Buchanan

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Matthew Stock’s practice explores the spatial politics involved in technologically mediated movement. Using altered transit maps, typographic signs and architectural objects, the work examines how information directs movement through public space.

    Kirsty Buchanan’s work is conceptually driven by shame and socially constructed boundaries. She considers how the judgemental gaze of society becomes internalised to the extent that it affects our unconscious actions.

18. 18

    Date not listed

    Ben Woodeson

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Ben Woodeson is known for his deliberately dangerous sculptures and presented works from the Health & Safety Violation series and the new Causality series.

    Woodeson’s sculptures are brutally performative; they inhabit a particular moment of action and subsequent reaction. Their physical activity instigates an intense and visceral relationship with the viewer and the gallery architecture.

    The works spin, roll, wobble, fall, flick, collapse, shatter and even ignite. Their control systems are automatic, random and frequently self-destructive, so the exhibition continuously evolves and no two visits are the same.

19. 19

    Date not listed

    Kate Janes and Dan Westlake

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Kate Janes’ practice includes large outdoor public events as well as smaller performative pieces. Documentation, sequential processes, setting up and dismantling are integral to the work. Drawing often runs parallel with sculptural works and can encompass lists, brainstorms and statements.

    Dan Westlake’s multi-dimensional practice includes texts, sound works, video installation and performance. Often working with others as either collaborator or curator, his practice is committed to a positive engagement with information technology and digital communication.

20. 20

    Date not listed

    Carlos Noronha Feio and Xenofon Kavvadias

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Carlos Noronha Feio presented For the use of an Emancipated Other, Manual one: Washing the flags — a process of research, assimilation, formulation, de-codification, removal of meaning, re-codification and dissemination.

    Xenofon Kavvadias’ work inhabits the space created by the intersection of life, art, politics and law. It is sensitive to scenes of rupture and to open, ambiguous moments that heighten consciousness and deepen understanding of the contemporary condition.

21. 21

    Date not listed

    Alan Magee and S.M.A.C

    New findings & research · La Scatola, London

    

    

    Alan Magee’s work is an ongoing investigation into the human condition, choice and self-improvement. Everyday objects are altered and manipulated, using materials and materiality as a metaphor for us and the choices we make.

    S.M.A.C — Sean Mcalister and Stephen Mackie — presented the meta architecture project, which explores how a subjective experience of space can be represented through photography, film and hand drawing.

    The project asks: how is your holistic visual perception of space different from the limits of what your eyes can see?