Time Travellers
DAVE MILTON
Tawfik Naas, whose Manifestations For An Eternal Spring occupies the main gallery at Flatland, is described as a researcher rather than an artist. Neat arrangements of enigmatic objects offer cryptic clues as to his intentions. Tiny stamps, the image of Muammar Gaddafi in heroic pose, heart-shaped plaques depicting industrial machinery (maybe sections of a pipeline of the kind in which Gaddafi hid and died), the wing bones of birds and a series of flinty fragments, all speak of an exploded past. A crystal ball hints at the prospect of an unambiguous future.
Detail of ‘Minder’ by Annie Whiles
Also on display is one of Annie Whiles’s Doorway Guardians. ‘Minder’ is a wooden mannequin, part hot dog, part chrysalis, its human face emerging from an oaken sarcophagus. Less grotesque than Ana Maria Pacheco’s similarly uncanny figures, it is pacific and solitary, its tranquil face suggestive of infinite patience. Visitors are encouraged to touch the work, not just take a selfie. The unspoken suggestion is that over centuries it will be worn down like the statue of a saint, rubbed smooth by the fingers of countless pilgrims.
The sculpture embodies contradictory impulses, evoking on the one hand the mystically charged Daoist idea of Pu, the essential uncarved block; and on the other, exhibiting the elaborate and celebratory flourishes of the medieval artisan (with a hint of Young British Artist – YBA – irreverence). It’s both profound and light-hearted.
Finally, a mention for Adrian Cox’s easily overlooked banner None of us are free until all of us are free above the gallery entrance. Despite the cracker-barrel sentiment, it’s a quietly lyrical work, the muted political intentions of which are bolstered by an online booklet downloadable from Flatland’s website.
Cox also makes physical publications via the Teiresian imprint: mythopoetic Risograph prints and a substantial magazine of art and texts by transgender and queer creatives. Its high production values and bold design are marred only by the use of a rather florid titular typeface.
Exhibition runs until 16 August 2026, Thursday to Saturday, 12pm to 4pm. Flatland Projects, Unit 22 Beeching Road, Bexhill-on-Sea TN39 3LJ
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