Lydia Newman: Tangle/Untangle

Developed by Lydia Newman in collaboration with Jae Gibbs as space holder, Tangle/Untangle is set within a crumbling cityscape and explores how inherited systems shape the ways bodies move, relate, adapt and understand themselves in relation to others.

In the first workshop, participants use sand-filled tights as a shared material to create a collective entanglement: negotiating, moving and collaborating to form a sculpture in constant motion. The second workshop centres on the slower act of untangling, inviting participants and witnesses to join Lydia in gradually unravelling the structure created the previous day, followed by a shared conversation held around the remains of the work.

On Thursday 13 August 2026, Newman will also present a live participatory performance, Sand Suit 4.0 (2026), an embodied storytelling work developed in dialogue with the workshops and her ongoing series In the Wake of Ruin.

Events:

Tangle Workshop #1: 1.30 – 4.30pm, Saturday 25 July 2026 (booking required)

Untangle Workshop #2: 2–4pm, Sunday 26 July 2026 (drop-in welcome)

Sand Suit 4.0 Performance: 7pm, Thursday 13 August 2026

These events are curated by Wan Yi Sandra Lam, Curator: Programmes & Engagement at Bow Arts in collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery. This event is part of Backyard Biennial.