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Femi Themen & Fungai Benhura:
(Quiet) Reckoning
Opening - October 13th: 6:30pm
By appointment only

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It is our pleasure to announce a very special duo show during Frieze Week between Femi Themen, a British Surinamese artist and Fungai Benhura a British Zimbabwean artist. This will be our third time working with Fungai, which we are very excited about, and our first exhibition with Femi following her Night Residency.

(Quietly) Reckoning opens on Tuesday, 13th of October, and we are delighted to welcome you to the Private View at 44 Great Russell St. at 6:30pm.

The exhibition, led as an installation, combines two practices that push the boundaries of what materiality can uncover. Their works act as improvisations, in part, forms of jazz, that weave difficult conversations, and are able to carry the weight of their ideas. The end result creates an antiphony, a non-dominating social relationship, hosting an encounter, which enables two practices to speak individually and in unison. Thus, enabling both conversations to be opened at once.

Femi’s use of holes, which are a motif throughout the body of work in Winti (Surinamese spirituality) symbolises neither a beginning nor an end, whilst Fungai’s mark making between the paper upon the canvas, creates new openings, without creating an ending. Both artists puncture their materials in order to create dialogue, directly approaching the material and the narrative. These passages, explore their collective interior, as Femi writes:

‘We were sitting on the balcony overlooking the river, somewhere near Botopassi. There are blanks, moments, wording or narratives that my brain tries to sequence – I’m stitching memory. I suspect some moments are for her to remember. Do I have a right to know? (I determinedly thought so). What privacy is she allowed or afforded as my mother? I want to know what happened. After she told me, the words just kind of hung in the air. It felt like she was floating. I wanted to pull everything back down to ground. I guess now I’ve made enough mistakes to understand.’

(Quitely) Reckoning welcomes you to explore these narratives, engage with the artists and enter their worlds through the works.

Subtitle Labs looks forward to welcoming you. by @subtitlelabs

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14 days ago

A snippet of a longer conversation we had with recent @sladeschool graduate Femi Themen.

(Quietly) Reckoning - Opening reception October 13th 6:30pm

44 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3JL

Work inquires:
Email: aviva@subtitlelabs.com
Whatsapp: +16479702736 by @subtitlelabs

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6 days ago

We are excited to welcome Femi Themen, our second graduate at the Subtitle Night Residency. Femi is a recent graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art, just around the corner from us here in Bloomsbury.

During her time at Subtitle, Femi is developing a new body of work ahead of an exhibition at the gallery this October, during Frieze.

The residency is intended to provide a blank canvas for Femi to respond to the environment of the gallery and also enable her to consider her practice within the safety of the space. We are excited to see how the work develops over the coming weeks, and to share more of Femi’s practice along the way. taken in Bloomsbury, London by @subtitlelabs

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a month ago

At the opening of Kevin Hopkins’ exhibition in our London Bloomsbury space, we asked visitors to reflect on the works and what resonated.

We Outside, We Outchea — on view until October 9th.

44 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3JL

By Appointment Only

Work inquires:

Email: aviva@subtitlelabs.com
Whatsapp: +16479702736 by @subtitlelabs

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10 days ago

Kevin Hopkins: We Outside, We Outchea, on—view until October 9.

44 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3JL

By Appointment Only

Work inquires:

Email: aviva@subtitlelabs.com
Whatsapp: +16479702736 by @subtitlelabs

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10 days ago

Kevin Hopkins: We Outside, We Outchea, on—view until October 9.

44 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3JL

By Appointment Only

Work inquires:

Email: aviva@subtitlelabs.com
Whatsapp: +16479702736 by @subtitlelabs

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13 days ago

BED NOT BREAK NOTHIN’, 2025, acrylic, oil pastel, marker, glitter glue, and shellac on canvas, 60 x 45 in

On view at @subtitlelabs by @subtitlelabs

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16 days ago

SPONGE BALL COMPETITOR, 2025, acrylic, chain, and cotton on canvas 60 x 40 x 7 in. On view at @subtitlelabs taken in London, England by @subtitlelabs

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18 days ago

After following his work in the US for several years, we are thrilled to be bringing Kevin Hopkins’ unique sculptural paintings to our Bloomsbury space next week.

Introducing Kevin Hopkins: We Outside, We Outchea opening Wednesday, September 23rd at 6pm at 44 Great Russell Street.

Kevin Hopkins is part of the prestigious
NXTHVN fellowship and is currently featured in the Made in VA Biennial at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. His practice explores themes of belonging, survival, and imagination, contextualized within the Black American experience. By weaving together his Lowcountry upbringing and pop-cultural influences, Hopkins’ work contributes to a diasporic search for pathways to healing as he imagines liberated realities and charts strategies for their actualization.

We are delighted to welcome you to the private view, please see the details below:

Wednesday September 23rd, 6pm
44 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3JL

By Appointment: September 23rd—October 9th

Work inquiries:

Email: aviva@subtitlelabs.com
WhatsApp: +16479702736 by @subtitlelabs

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a month ago

We are proud to announce our first residency with Zyna Dainkeh, a recent graduate of painting at Camberwell College of Arts!

The Night Residency will be a dedicated yearly residency awarded to one student who has recently graduated.

It is intended to be a safe space to reflect, experiment and consider their recent experiences, making the transition into non-degree life a touch easier. There is no exhibition post residency, or pressure to produce works, it is a moment in time, intended to inspire each artist’s creative practice.

Zyna’s excerpt on her Window Series:

Unifying monochromatic planes of the series, are pane-less windows and openings in structures that look out to a night sky punctuated with a full moon. I formulated this motif when trying to reinscribe the feelings of astonishment and solitary euphoria I have consistently experienced throughout my life when gazing out of windows at night. The development of this concept happened through playful experimentation with visual elements inspired by architectural façades, configurations of shapes found in everyday life and spontaneous colour combinations. As I grew confident in my representation of this concept, I began to revel in the technical aspects of my practice—considering the material qualities of my paintings.

I start with assembling, stretching and priming multiple surfaces to work on. And like a bricklayer, I build up blocks of paint that gradually pull focus to the centre of the canvas. I work quickly but meticulously. Automatically carving out shapes determined by the precise placement of my masking tape, and with broad strokes of my brush, I layer an assortment of blues to the image. This initial process coupled with the introduction of pointillist marks culminates in a therapeutic painting experience. My indulgence in the physical processes becomes a meditative activity. taken in Bloomsbury, London by @subtitlelabs

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2 months ago

Install shots of Slalom

It was wonderful to be able to exhibit Hafsa and Katie’s works at Subtitle over the past two months. Via the exhibition we engaged in dialogue on both of their practices, exploring each practice individually and in unison. Poets and musicians were invited to respond to the works, and a poem dedicated to the exhibition was wonderfully written by Kevin Omosele.

We look forward to seeing how Hafsa and Katie’s works develop, and thank them for their engaging collaboration and contribution.

Work Enquiries:
Jason on whatsapp: +447710347437
Hello@subtitlelabs.com taken in Bloomsbury, London by @subtitlelabs

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3 months ago

At our Subtitle summer event, we celebrated the culmination of fortunate circumstances via collaborations. It all came about through the happenstance meeting between Katie and Kevin, culminating in his special curation of poetry and jazz.

It was a great way to close Slalom, the duo show between Hafsa Nouman and Katie Kaur. Two artists that emit dedication within their practice, and passion for growth.

Accompanied by poetry, jazz, and free flowing music, it was the perfect way to begin the summer. There will be many more events to follow at Subtitle, via Safe Eyes, a new event launching within Subtitle with Kevin Omosele. A safe space for emerging writers, performers, poets, and filmmakers,

Watch this space.

Subtitle Team

Poets/musicians: @janxchan @jaka_bby @paris_texaco @reusaax @arron_wildman @augustcooke_ @newhome_______ taken in Bloomsbury, London by @subtitlelabs

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4 months ago