Award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel will be bringing his Come As You Really Are exhibition to the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA) next March. The exhibition is part of a nationwide project commissioned by Artangel that will take place in 12 locations across the UK.
In advance of the exhibition arriving, Hetain has invited collectors, crafters, makers and modifiers to share details of their hobbies.
Hundreds of unique hand-crafted objects loaned from people across the North East will go on display at NGCA alongside a film by Hetain, which explores the outstanding creativity and passion that people put into their hobbies.
Come As You Really Are celebrates people who dedicate their spare time to activities they are passionate about. It explores how individuals express their identity, character and creativity through their favourite pastimes.
The inaugural exhibition took place at The Hobby Cave at Grants, Croydon, London between 18 July 18 and October 20, 2024, and Come As You Really Are will be at NGCA from Saturday, March 22 to Sunday, July 6 next year.
Hetain said: “There is a vulnerability in sharing something so personal, which often happens in private spaces around the responsibilities of daily life. But there is also a tremendous power in sharing collectively, which is at the heart of this project. I hope people join us in this celebration of the unstoppable nature of self-expression that is demonstrated by our hobbies.”
Mariam Zulfiqar, Director at Artangel, said: “Hetain’s work has always invited us to reflect on identity as multidimensional and complex. For Come As You Really Are he extends an invitation to people around the country, asking them to share the objects, activities and pastimes that form part of their identity. The ambitious presentation of hundreds of objects loaned by as many hobbyists creates a new kind of picture, where people and their identities are seen beyond national, racial, gendered or age-related categories that conventionally categorise who we are.”
Vicki Kennedy, Learning and Engagement Manager at Sunderland Culture, which delivers the programme in NGCA, said: “Every day, millions of us dedicate time to our favourite hobbies as a way to express ourselves and be creative. Come As You Really Are is a perfect way of celebrating the boundless creativity and passion that goes into our hobbies. We’re really looking forward to hosting the exhibition at NGCA – and particularly the screening of Hetain’s film.”
Patel is an award-winning British-Gujarati artist and filmmaker. Much of his practice is derived from his childhood hobbies and interests, including his lifelong passion for Spider-Man. In 2013, the artist created his first sculpture, Fiesta Transformer, when he converted his car into a real-life Transformer robot with the help of his father. Come As You Really Are is Patel’s most ambitious and far-reaching project to date.
National partners include Factory International, Manchester; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; Museum of Making, Derby Museums Trust; National Festival of Making with Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery; Wolverhampton Art Gallery; Barnsley Civic; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; CCA Derry-Londonderry; Hospitalfield, Arbroath and Tate St Ives.
People can submit details of their hobbies via thehobbycave.org.uk until Monday, January 6, 2025.