Untitled) abrogation is a continuation of Ashe’s exploration into the paradigmatic relations between what it means to belong and the nuances of existing on the fringes of society. The performance examines the dualities between the oppressor and the oppressed, reified in the act of two performers standing a step behind handmade Russian and Ukrainian flags.

The male-identifying performers face each other, yet they cannot see one another’s faces as their bodies are obscured by the flags of ‘their’ respective nations. Their genitalia are visible through a cut-out gloryhole, signifying a concept fundamental to understanding one of the motivations behind Ashe’s creative practice: that men in power exert their influence into every crevice of society to the detriment of the rights of those who are othered.

Excerpt from accompanying catalogue essay; A Meditation on Cruelty by Matt Siddall

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Full essay available here

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The grandiose ugliness of warfare is materialised in the neutral space of the gallery... Yet, we cannot do a thing but observe as the encounter plays out.