MEXICO CITY.- Dr Keith Winter, Head of Visual Arts at the University of East London, will perform his Heavy Metal artwork/performance piece at a gallery in Mexico City from August 24 to September the first.

Winter will use a special sculptural apparatus as a percussion instrument, while his collaborator, Gabriel Santamarina provides a spoken-word accompaniment. Both will be wearing custom-made outfits designed by Winter.

A total of four performances will take place, with Winter describing the project as combining sculpture with sound, “Heavy Metal is a solo exhibition of my work between sculpture and percussion, object and sound which I call the ‘apparatus of noise.”

This work started as a project during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, when Keith Winter and Gabriel Santamarina curated an online book club that focussed on texts concerned with a wide variety of subjects including spirituality, fourth way enlightenment, eco-psychology, Jung, heroes, villains, cities and surrealism. This has now developed into the Heavy Metal performances, which will take place at Mexico City’s Galeria Boca, a key institution in the city’s vibrant arts scene.

Winter himself has long been interested in that scene, with UEL helping foster that connection, “I have a long-standing relationship to the art scene in Mexico and absolutely admire and love the cultural strength in this city. My UEL team were super supportive in funding my travel and the production of my limited-edition cassette tapes and printed monograph for the exhibition in Galeria Boca.”

Performances will last 12 minutes and are informed by a spirit of transformation and rupture, an invocation that prepares a ritualistic groundwork for the process of objects in production. Percussive rhythms are an important aspect of the performance alongside the authentic sound of steel using certain bespoke mallets made for the occasion.

The limited-edition of 25 cassette tapes with 20 minutes (10 minutes each side) of audio work, will be presented in a custom-made painted hand-hammered steel cassette case made for the event. ‘Heavy Metal’ by Keef Winter (Side A) can be heard here https://on.soundcloud.com/sNyLH

Keith Winter

Winter has shown artwork internationally around the world including co-representing the Northern Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennial in 2016. His recent shows include: 'sky every day', with Richard Serra, N. Dash, Christine Corday, curated by B.Barretts Projects, projects+gallery, St Louis, 2020; Mahler Lewitt Residency, Spoleto 2019, ‘Can’t Help It’ (solo) at Black Tower Projects, London 2017; ‘‘No Regrets’ (solo), Galeria Breve, Mexico City 2018; He has toured UK, Europe, Japan and Mexico with his musical collaborations Tracer AMC, Not Squares, Handyman, played Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds and recorded numerous BBC sessions including Maidavale Studios in 2009 for Huw Stephens. He has taught and lectured in many Universities around the world including Tokyo University of the Arts GEIDAI, NZU, RCA, ECA, UU and UCL. In 2013 he published the 'Handyman Aesthetic' for his PhD in philosophy, architecture and sculpture. He is the Head of Visual Arts at the University of East London.