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Nunnery Café Exhibition | Memory Archives by Jiacun Li
Thursday 15th June 2023 – Monday 4th September 2023 , 9:00am to 4:00pm
For the summer edition of our Nunnery Café exhibition programme, we’re proud to present ‘Memory Archives’ – a solo exhibition of new and existing prints, comics, and drawings by London-based illustrator and animator, Jiacun Li.
Interweaving human consciousness, personal experiences, memory, and nostalgia, Jiacun Li’s artworks depict a vivid, vibrant visual archive of the absurdities that happen in our everyday lives and make us who we are.
As dream-like as they are rooted in countless tales and stories that Jiacun has collected throughout his life, the artworks in the show chronicle the adventures of specific people and places he has encountered, before spiralling out into luminous fantasy-scapes, punctuated by bold colours, gnarled and twisted forms, and anthropomorphised creatures.
Through the works, we are teased with glimpses of the multiplicity of forms that Jiacun himself holds and the kinds of formative experiences that can have a huge impact on a person’s sense of self and who they become, as he builds these fantastical worlds to protect, cherish, and reimagine memories that he wants to keep close.
In Jiacun’s own words:
“I often symbolize fields and connect them to personal experiences and childhood memories. Maybe I have dreamed about them? Maybe they remind me of certain people? I’m afraid that as time passes, some impressive moments from my formative years will fade into oblivion.
My friends used to say ‘well what just happened in (somewhere) has to be drawn by you again.’ For me, they are the most precious things in my life – they are all part of something personal to me and I want to treasure them in the way I am good at, like my memory archive, to protect them.”
More about Jiacun Li (Lichee)
Jiacun Li is a London-based illustrator and animator with a specialization in storyboarding and creative visual design. As a visual artist, his ultimate goal is to create compelling narratives that engage viewers through a range of mediums, including comics, graphic novels, 2D animation, and stop motion.
Jiacun’s work is often driven by human consciousness, personal experience, and emotions. He is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between people and places, and aims to create a memory archive around these connections that is both refreshing and protective. His characters are often portrayed as anthropomorphized animals or unique, surreal beings, reflecting different aspects of himself in the world.
Nunnery Cafe exhibitions
This is the eleventh exhibition in our series of shows in the Nunnery Café, which showcase affordable works of art from Bow Arts artists. All works are for sale and those priced between £100 – £2500 are available to purchase using Own Art. This is a national scheme that allows buyers to spread the cost of purchasing an artwork over 10 monthly instalments, with the benefit of an interest-free loan.
Previous Nunnery Café exhibitionists include: Loose Associations, Tom Berry, Emily Vanns, Matilda Ellis, Will Redgrove, Amy Browne, Bhajan Hunjan, Haidée Drew, Javi Cazenave, and Jessica Jane Charleston.
Access information
The Nunnery Café has step-free access throughout from street level, including to the accessible toilet, and is service animal friendly. This venue does not have a hearing loop system. Accessible parking is not available on-site but blue badge parking can be found 500m away on Fairfield Road.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility at this event or would like to make us aware of any access requirements that you have in advance of attending, please email nunnery@bowarts.com
Access requirements could include things like providing equipment, services or support (e.g. information in Easy Read, speech to text software, additional 1:1 support), adjusting workshop timings (e.g. more break times), adjustments to the event space (e.g. making sure you have a table near the entrance) or anything else you can think of!
Transport Information
Opening hours: Mon-Sat, 9am to 4pm ; Sunday 10am – 4pm
Address: Nunnery Cafe, 181 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ
Nearest station(s): Bow Road (District and Hammersmith and City lines) is a 6-minute walk away, and Bow Church (DLR) is a 3-minute walk away.
Bus: 205, 25, 425, A8, D8, 108, 276, 488 and 8 all service the surrounding area.
Bike: Bicycle parking is located at Bow Church Station. The nearest Santander Cycles docking station is at Bow Church Station.
