Go to Exhibition Archives

SMITTENS FOR SMOTICONS

Michael Dean

Exhibition Dates
October 17 - November 18, 2022
Open Friday to Sunday 14h - 19h & by appointment: info@goswellroad.com

"A smoticon, short for “smote icon”, also known simply as a smote, is a physical representation of a smite, smitten characters - usually punctuation scars, numbers and letters - to express having cared." Extract from 'Smittens For Smoticons', A Novella by Michael Dean, Published by Goswell Road, 2022

Goswell Road is proud to announce 'Smittens For Smoticons', a solo exhibition by Michael Dean, on the occasion of the publication of the same name. The publication, Dean's first novella, is available in a limited edition of 100 copies.

Michael Dean(b. 1977, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom) is an artist living in East London. Dean grew up in a sub-proletarian community in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, notoriously attending the ‘Worst school in the United Kingdom' (Crace, 1999). Dean’s work begins with his own writing, abstracting text into sculpture and immersive installations including transient publications that explore the body, intimacy and language. Dean has said, “I use my enemies dictionary”. A reference to the artist's mother tongue, a working-class dialect of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, called ‘Geordie’, and the common experience of being forced to operate in the mother tongue of the middle and upper class, sometimes referred to as ‘Queen’s English’. A so-called ‘standard English’, closed to communities of poverty and or marginalisation.

♥

Both the publication and exhibition are part of 'Tendre-Sur-Estime' initiated by curator Julie Boukobza.'Tendre-Sur-Estime' is composed of five chapters; the Tuileries Garden (part of Sites by Paris+ Art Basel with Mendes Wood DM gallery), the publication & exhibition at Goswell Road, Librairie Yvon Lambert, Eglise Saint-Eustache in collaboration with Move Festival at Centre Pompidou and, finally, in Boukobza’s private garden. For more information about'Tendre-Sur-Estime'follow the dedicated Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/tendresurestime/

Press:

Featured on Mousse Magazine

Featured on Contempoary Art Library