Taymour Grahne Projects is pleased to present a solo exhibition by London-based artist Lily Kemp, opening on January 14 between 5-7 pm at the Notting Hill space (1 Lonsdale Road) as part of a joint opening across our spaces.

Lily Kemp has been exploring depictions of mermaids from a queer narrative as an ambiguous hybrid figure, after looking at tales of mermaids in different cultures. By focusing on mermaids and fish like people in Chinese Mythology, Kemp delves deeper into connotations of the illustrious figure.

Kemp identifies a particular tale of interest, Jiao Ren which tells the story of a talented mermaid, a craftswoman who holds the ability to transform her tears into pearls. Jiao Ren is an independent merperson not reliant on the emotive reactions of others - bearing remarkable skill that she wields in the creation of valuable objects.

Kemp also draws from illustrations and descriptions of fish-like people in the book called Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas (1). A fish called Diren is of special importance to Kemp: a creature comprised of a human face and a fish-like body. Diren’s body is bounded by fins which enable travel between heaven and earth. The fact that Diren can travel between, signifies a creation of tremendous interest for us (the human viewer) who is very much bound by time and earth.

Another character examined is Chiru, a fish that when submerged in water retains the face of a woman, yet when on land their human traits totally disappear. Chiru is never entirely of their environment, uncontrollably morphing to reflect a state best suited to an adversary habitat. Chiru differs from Diren who can freely travel between realms and is bound by the consequences of existing in two worlds.

Kemp’s investigations into mermaids and the narratives society have developed around them, reveal real life attitudes and anxieties that are still conscribed to theoretically imaginative spaces. The nature of the mermaid’s existence depicts a reality suspended between two worlds, a palpable feeling of in-betweenness that is also found within the queer landscape. Their ethereal quality and relationship to the ocean invite further discourse on the meaning of existence, wisdom and reality.

Lily Kemp B. 1997, London, England. Selected exhibitions include a solo presentation with Galeria Duarte Sequeira, ARCO Madrid (2021); What now?, PM/AM Gallery, London (2022); Confluence of tongues, Grove Collective, London (2021); Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2020, South London Gallery, London (2021);Herstory - Women in Art, Maddox Gallery, London (2020); The Woon Foundation Painting & Sculpture Prize, Gallery North, Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).The Woon Foundation Painting & Sculpture Prize, Gallery North, Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).

1) Text by Jiankun Sun, Illustrated by Siyu Chen, Translated and with an introduction by Howard Goldblatt which which is a new illustrated interpretation drawing from ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas’.