A new solo show by Prem Sahib, The Life Cycle of a Flea, opened last week at Phillida Reid, Grape Street. The exhibition revolves around two central figures, the Child and the Flea, implicating them in questions around growth, extraction, contamination and existence within systems of control. It includes new sculpture, painting, installation, light and sound work and runs until 8 November 2023. Prem Sahib is also the author of That Fire Over There (Book Works, 2023)

Deborah-Joyce Holman, author of Queen For A Day, has a major solo exhibition, Living Room, opening at Kunsthalle Bern on 14 October and running until 3 December. They also have work in the inaugural Biennial Son in Valais, open now until 29 October, and is participating in the Sonic Intimacies and Queer Resonances programme at Nottingham Contemporary (24 September 2023–7 January 2024).

Francesco Pedraglio has a solo show at Norma Mangione gallery, Milan, until 21st October. Stanze Vista Dall’Alto / Rooms Seen From Above explores themes of space, perspective and staging also present in his recent book, Battles Vol. 1.

In New York, Phyllis Christopher is part of a new group show, Radical Perverts: Ecstasy and Activism in Queer Public Life, which opens on 12 October at the Museum of Sex and runs until April 2024. More info and tickets here. Phyllis Christopher‘s Dark Room was published by Book Works in 2022.

Our book of the month, with 30% off during October, is Helen Cammock’s Moveable Bridge – a 12″ vinyl album of spoken word and song and artist publication in a gatefold sleeve commissioned as part of Beyond Words. We are down to approximately 25 copies so this is likely to be the last chance to buy this edition.

Poverty, politics and survival have been a part of the story of Hull as much as wars, imperialism and trade have shaped the city. As in most cities, and especially ports, contradictions are numerous, and radical political activists and thinkers smatter the history of Hull leaving legacies that are often hard to understand and acknowledge. Cammock has brought together some of the voices that have come out of Hull’s history to ask some questions about what freedom, liberty and openess means for a city, its people and culture, which have been so connected to the building of ships and global trade for centuries, into a visual collage using photography, video, printmaking, writing and performance.

Helen Cammock was born in 1970 in Staffordshire. Film, photography, print, text, song and performance examine mainstream historical and contemporary narratives about Blackness, womanhood, oppression and resistance, wealth and power, poverty and vulnerability, throughout her practice. Her works often cut across time and geography, layering multiple voices as she investigates the cyclical nature of histories in her visual and aural assemblages.

Moveable Bridge by Helen Cammock is published by Book Works in an edition of 250 copies. 12” Album with spoken word and songs by Helen Cammock, artist’s publication, 36 pages; in a gatefold sleeve 260mm x 260mm. Designed by Modern Activity.