Lou Lou Sainsbury presents two of her moving-image works followed by a discussion. A Fantastic Body introduces us to Sunbeam – the plush reincarnation of a historical trans figure, and descending notes offers an erotic cosmic story of love, resonance and dissonance.

+ Q&A with Lou Lou Sainsbury & Rebecca Jagoe. Chaired by Claire Vaughan with BSL interpretation from Cathryn McShane

A Fantastic Body

Sunbeam gets surgery and is brought back to life. A doll of Sunbeam, a cute and chaotic personification of the sun invoking the trans Roman Empress Heliogabalus, is split open, remade and implanted with collected ‘resonant’ objects - a rib bone, a lock of hair, teeth, pharmaceutical hormones and a peach pit for a brain. Performed by the artist and filmed in her own bedroom and kitchen, the intimate film explores a domestic imaginary for restitching transfeminine histories, a communion with the dead and the sensual reinvention of a body with no end.

descending notes

descending notes (2022) is an erotic cosmic story that explores transness as a form of dissonance and resonance. It takes inspiration from Donny Hathaway’s heartfelt rendition of A Song for You, whose lyrics are punctuated by a discordant progression of piano notes: “If my words don’t come together, listen to the melody ‘cause my love is in there hiding… I love you in a place where there's no space or time.” Grounded in autobiographical experiences of tenderness, solidarity and grief within transgender friendships and everyday life; as the world splits apart, three undercover beings covertly learn to live in transformation and to give each other breath.

Lou Lou Sainsbury is an artist based between Rotterdam, NL and Margate, UK, working across film, live-performance, poetry, drawing, sculpture and textiles. She is a self-described time traveller, making things that unwrite histories of living beings into tricksterish dreamscapes, exploring identity, community and ecological entanglement. She often works in collaboration, developing intimate long term research-led projects guided by improvisation, cinematic processes and sonic thinking.

Recent solo exhibitions include: Ehrlich Steinberg, Los Angeles (2024); Roodkapje, Rotterdam (2023); Humber Street Gallery, Hull; Gasworks, London (2022) and Well Projects, Margate (2020). Lou Lou’s recent group exhibitions, performances and screenings include: Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin; International Film Festival Rotterdam (2023); Whitstable Biennale (2022); Centre for Contemporary Arts, Prague (2021); La Casa Encendida, Madrid (2020), Tate Modern, London; Nottingham Contemporary; Yaby, Madrid (2019) and Flat Time House, London (2018).

Latecomer policy: Doors will open fifteen minutes before the performance start time, please arrive promptly as this event has limited capacity. Any empty seats five minutes before the performance start time, will be released and re-sold on a first come first served basis on the door.

Access: Captions, BSL interpretation from Cathryn McShane (for Q&A)