FKA twigs, pseudonym of Tahliah Debrett Barnett is a singer-songwriter, visionary musician, British dancer and multidisciplinary artist who will unveil a major new artwork at Sotheby's London from 14 to 26 September (free admission). The Eleven is an enduring work of art, conceived by FKA twigs and performed by a rotating group of eleven “movers”. The piece, developed by FKA Twigs over the course of many months, is a physical and artistic quest for self-healing, rooted – in part – in decades spent practicing movement, somatic healing techniques, and implementing conscious repetitive actions. FKA twigs herself will participate in a changing cast of characters from different backgrounds and walks of life. They will embody the method and record in real time the changes they feel in their minds and bodies.
FKA twigs has always been a creative force of nature
He has consistently pushed the boundaries of music, movement, video, art and performance in his work. With The Eleven, he continues to explore new artistic territory, establishing his place among the most innovative and exciting artists working today. This will also be a step into uncharted territory for Sotheby's, which has never presented a work of art of this kind in its 280-year history.
The exhibition's opening will coincide with the release of FKA twigs' first single in four years, and previews her long-awaited new album EUSEXUA
The inspiration and driving force behind both the artwork and the album express the feeling of “Eusexua”, a term coined by FKA twigs, who loves to create new and playful words to describe emotions without previous nomenclature – to capture a state of profound clarity and creativity.
While filming the newly released remake of The Crow in Prague, FKA twigs found herself drawn to the city’s pulsating underground techno scene. She would lose herself in the crowds and raw energy of Prague’s clubs, and that’s where the concept of Eusexua was born. FKA twigs developed a sequence of movement mantras, all painstakingly crafted with her creative community and designed to spark mediation and change, ranging from “virtually undetectable gestures for discreet public use to much larger and bolder physical movements that can be performed alone in private or in a safe space with like-minded individuals.” The movements, repeated for eleven minutes each, are meant to evolve as participants become physically and emotionally exhausted. The process can be disjointed, chaotic and at times raw, but it’s in this rawness that the beauty of the human experience unfolds. When “the exhaustion begins to kick in, the movements will look different. It’s about exploring these feelings until you feel exhausted and then moving on and finding a new point of view. The durational piece will be accompanied by an evolving live soundtrack performed in Sotheby’s galleries by musician and producer, Matteo Chiarenza-Santini, who also collaborated with FKA twigs on her upcoming album, “EUSEXUA”.
Who is FKA Twigs
Born Tahliah Debrett Barnett in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, she is a British recording artist, singer, songwriter, dancer, director and actress known for her innovative and genre-blending approach to music and art. Raised in an artistic family, FKA Twigs was immersed in dance and music from a young age, studying opera and ballet, which laid the foundation for her multidisciplinary career. She began her career as a dancer before shifting her focus to music and performing. FKA twigs released her debut EP, EP1, in 2012, followed by her critically acclaimed debut album LP1 in 2014, which earned her a Mercury Prize nomination and established her as a powerful force in avant-pop and electronic music. Her second studio album, Magdalene, was released in 2019, and her latest musical project, EUSEXUA, will be released later this month.
