Period Drama

Fragments of Time, Body, and Sexuality Rebecca Ackroyd’s (b. Cheltenham, UK, 1987; lives and works in Berlin and London) art blends abstract and surreal elements articulated in complex installations and sculptures made of synthetic resin, wood, or plaster, but also in large-format paintings: the artist combines turbines or dreaming eyes rendered in gouaches with abstracted casts of her own body or objects such as wigs, sunglasses, or cages. Based on psychoanalytic theories, her works question fundamental aspects of the human experience of time as well as of womanhood and fertility. In Period Drama, Ackroyd investigates fragmented realities, the subconscious, and the malleability of memory while also reflecting on their representation. The monograph is released on occasion of Ackroyd’s recent exhibitions at the Kestner Gesellschaft (Period Drama, 2023/24) and as a Collateral Event during the 60th Venice Biennale (Mirror Stage, 2024). The book is the first to survey the artist’s work. With essays by Attilia Fattori Franchini, Alexander Wilmschen, and an interview with the artist.