Babeworld x utopian_realism

Having built a relationship with Babeworld through an invitation to be in residence at Wysing Arts Centre in 2021/2022, Grand Union co-programme director Hannah Wallis has been developing long-term commitments to artists across organisations, timescales and towards anti-ableist futures

Based on the understanding that organisations cannot inherently ever promise complete safety due to systemic structures, Hannah and Grand Union are continually working to build trust, long-term careful working practices and meaningful embedded anti-ablesit frameworks.

Continuing conversations from Wysing, Babeworld were invited to respond to Grand Union’s programme and in Spring/ Summer 2024 we presented their biggest exhibition to date, Love is Real, and it’s Inside Of My Computer.

Riffing off the very idea of the invitation itself with their usual verve and humour and working in collaboration with sound artist utopian_realism, the collective presented a project that reflected on the ever ubiquitous need within the arts to have new and innovative ideas.

Told through the eyes of a neurodivergent coded character, the project plays on the structures of the gallery and art world, asking us to question and renegotiate how we define what is considered ’new’, ‘exciting’, and ‘taste making’ in the arts.

The project comprised of an exhibition in the gallery and a series of events that connect in particular with a neurodiverse public.

A landscape image of an exhibition designed to look like a pale pink bedroom. The bedroom contains a messy desk holding a computer set up. Lots of pictures and posters are pinned up on the walls, and stuffed toys sit on a shelf and the floor next to a grey sofa. — Install shot of ‘Love is Real and it’s Inside Of My Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, exhibition at Grand Union, 2024. Photo by Patrick Dandy.

A landscape image of a screen hung on a wall curtained with black fabric. Purple-blue LED lights shine out from behind the dark screen, illuminating the folds of the dark curtains. On the screen, white text in wavy lines reads ‘Relax as the oceanic sounds swell and dissolve within a glistening cascade of serene cybernetic reverberations.’ The text glows against the dark background it sits on, giving off a soft lilac light. — Install shot of ‘Love is Real and it’s Inside Of My Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, exhibition at Grand Union, 2024. Photo by Patrick Dandy.

A landscape image of a messy computer desk. The desk holds a pink mouse, keyboard, and xbox controller, alongside a notebook, a yellow pack of swan cigarette filters, and open medication. A computer monitor is partially visible, featuring an unclear dark image and a caption written in write text that reads ' Table? It's getting scrubbed.' Also on the desk is a small black speaker, a capybara toy, and a mug filled with pens that features an axyoltl. — Install shot of ‘Love is Real and it’s Inside Of My Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, exhibition at Grand Union, 2024. Photo by Patrick Dandy.

Install shot of ‘Love is Real and it’s Inside Of My Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, exhibition at Grand Union, 2024. Photo by Patrick Dandy.

A landscape image of a darkened gallery space with black walls and a grey concrete floor. Within the room, there sits a simple but large wooden structure built of industrial stud-wall timber. There is a doorway on one wall of the structure, through which a room with pale pink walls can be seen. A mirror and clothing rack are partially visible. — Install shot of ‘Love is Real and it’s Inside Of My Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, exhibition at Grand Union, 2024. Photo by Patrick Dandy.

You can watch 'Love is Real, and It's Inside Of My Computer' via Babeworld's Youtube channel →You can read the Frieze review of Babeworld x utopian_realism's exhibition here →

'Love is Real, and It's Inside Of My Computer' opened at Grand Union in May 2024, and ran until August of the same year.

Learn more about Babeworld x utopian_realism's exhibition here →

Working in partnership with the University of Birmingham MA Curating cohort we hosted a series of events that explored another side of ‘masking’ and emotional mapping than otherwise anticipated, providing an opportunity for Grand Union to reflect crucially on what and how we are teaching in the field of curatorial practice today.

The exhibition was presented alongside online screenings of the core artistic commission and an in-depth audio-described video walkthrough of the show for those unable to visit the gallery itself.

The project with Babeworld marked a significant shift in how the public are invited to experience exhibitions and associated events at Grand Union, which will continue into the future.

a landscape image of a figure dressed in a black tasseled outfit, a brightly coloured harness around their chest and shoulders, a black leather beret, and a pink mask that covers the entirety of their face. The figure has their arms raised and the tassels of the outfit fly outwards, as if in the middle of dancing. The figure is surrounded by pastel toned fabrics in shades of pink, blue, green, and yellow, that hang from the ceiling.

Unmasking || Remapping: Masked Ball with utopian_realism and Naoibh McNamee

Plane Structure7 June 20246–10pm

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A square graphic with a pale pink background. A dark pink pattern of marbled lines stretches down from the top of the frame.

Unmasking || Remapping: Newly Commissioned Writing

June 2024

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A landscape image featuring black line drawn illustrations of various gardening equipment, sites, and plants on a plain white background.

Unmasking || Remapping: Winterbourne Gardens Emotional Mapping Audioguide with Lee Mackenzie

May 2024

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a landscape film still taken from Babeworld’s ‘Derby Day’. At the centre of the image, a small blow up man lies on the grey floor in a corridor through a doorway. The smiling face of the man is distorted by the shape of the inflatable, and his body clad in a white t-shirt and black trousers is cartoonish. The low position of the camera provides a clear view of the stacks of DVDs, clothes, figurines, and yellow lighter also lying on the floor in the room before the corridor. Behind the inflatable figure, through a second doorway, part of a cluttered living room is visible.

Unmasking || Remapping x Flatpack: ‘Derby Day’ – Babeworld Screening and Q&A with Anne Duffau

15 May 20246–7.30pm

Mockingbird Cinema
Plus late night gallery opening until 9pm.

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We often talk about long-term working practices with artists, however these often end with a culminating exhibition, frequently seen as the final presentation of a working relationship between artist and organisation. However with Babeworld we have continued to work together through their iterative and collaborative projects since presenting Love Is Real.

In April 2025, we hosted an online screening of ‘Would You Rather’, a film exploring the experiences of a mentally ill autistic person outlining their approach to social interactions in their day-to-day and their professional life as an artist. Shot and edited over two days, this film was an experiment in alternative ways of scheduling creative work. With the dates and pace for filming left undefined, and instead harnessing a phase of acute mania that could not be planned with diaries, taking an experimental approach to productivity that allows it to sit symbiotically with the ebbs and flows of mental illness.

We will be supporting a partnership project with Babeworld in 2026. More information will be shared here in the coming months.

A landscape image of a person with dark hair and a bleached blonde streak through their fringe, sitting in front of a computer screen and a wall covered in anime images, figurines, and cork boards filled with pins. The computer screen is black but filled with white text that reads in capital letters 'these methods are not scientifically backed and therefore not medical or therapeutic advice'.

Online Screening: ‘Would You Rather’ by Babeworld

16–28 April 2025

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A portrait image of lots of printed ephemera stuck to a wall, evoking a teenager's bedroom. The poster's and stickers feature various anime characters and boybands.

Unmasking || Remapping: Mask-making workshop with Babeworld and ‘Deco’ keyring workshop with Bunny Bissoux

Plane Structure, Minerva Works7 June 20244–6pm

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