Serpentine Podcast

This episode opens up to consider intimacy with the world around us. Today, many of us feel – and are – disconnected from place, and not everyone feels equally at home in the spaces we move through. Ranging from urban and built environments to social and digital worlds, this episode asks what we need to be able to feel comfortable and intimate with our surroundings. How are artists challenging and working with different forms of space and place? And what happens when we can reconnect with the elements, environments, people, and other beings around us? Featuring an interview with 2023 Serpentine Pavilion architect Lina Gotmeh, an original sound work by Black Power Naps, an audio excerpt from a project by Jakob Kudsk Steensen from the Serpentine archive, and Serpentine curator Kay Watson in conversation with Gaylene Gould. Subscribe to Serpentine Podcast now to be the first to hear new Intimacies episodes. You can connect with the series on socials @serpentineuk, and you can find more information and full descriptive transcripts at www.serpentinegalleries.org/art-and-ideas/serpentine-podcast-intimacies/. CREDITS Hosted by Gaylene Gould Produced by Katie Callin (Reduced Listening) Production support by Nada Smiljanic (Reduced Listening) Executive production by Anishka Sharma (Reduced Listening) Curated by Hanna Girma and Fiona Glen Mix engineering by Jesse Lawson (Reduced Listening) Theme music by Hinako Omori Visual identity by the unloved ABOUT INTIMACIES Serpentine Podcast: Intimacies explores the complexities of closeness, and asks how we can expand and evolve our intimacy with others, ourselves, and the world around us. Join our host, Gaylene Gould, as she gathers perspectives from artists, designers, writers, thinkers, and more on how we can rekindle trust, and open ourselves up to new possibilities for connection. Confronting the slippery topics of fear, vulnerability, sex, love and loneliness in art and life, the Intimacies series delves into the feelings and experiences which we don’t always voice – from our relationships with family or strangers, to the things we fear most and our deepest desires, to our surroundings and our innermost selves. Each episode combines interviews, original audio works, conversations, and pieces from the Serpentine archive. This series itself is personal, emotional, reflective, and an exploration of vulnerability in many ways. 

We now move from a space of fear into desire – asking how art can be a space to express, explore and experience the supposedly private sphere of sexuality. In our desires, what is the interplay between distance and closeness? How do attraction and obsession intersect with other aspects of our lives? What happens when intimate pleasures and partnerships inform art-making – and when that work is brought before a public? Featuring an original sound work by Pixy Liao, an interview with Tiona Nekkia McClodden, an unpublished sex column reading by Brontez Purnell, and Serpentine curator Hanna Girma in conversation with Gaylene Gould. Subscribe to Serpentine Podcast now to be the first to hear new Intimacies episodes. You can connect with the series on socials @serpentineuk, and you can find more information and full descriptive transcripts at www.serpentinegalleries.org/art-and-ideas/serpentine-podcast-intimacies/. CREDITS Hosted by Gaylene Gould Produced by Katie Callin (Reduced Listening) Production support by Nada Smiljanic (Reduced Listening) Executive production by Anishka Sharma (Reduced Listening) Curated by Hanna Girma and Fiona Glen Mix engineering by Jesse Lawson (Reduced Listening) Theme music by Hinako Omori Visual identity by the unloved ABOUT INTIMACIES Serpentine Podcast: Intimacies explores the complexities of closeness, and asks how we can expand and evolve our intimacy with others, ourselves, and the world around us. Join our host, Gaylene Gould, as she gathers perspectives from artists, designers, writers, thinkers, and more on how we can rekindle trust, and open ourselves up to new possibilities for connection. Confronting the slippery topics of fear, vulnerability, sex, love and loneliness in art and life, the Intimacies series delves into the feelings and experiences which we don’t always voice – from our relationships with family or strangers, to the things we fear most and our deepest desires, to our surroundings and our innermost selves. Each episode combines interviews, original audio works, conversations, and pieces from the Serpentine archive. This series itself is personal, emotional, reflective, and an exploration of vulnerability in many ways. 

Sometimes the things we fear live as intimately within us as the things we love. These fears are rarely distant from us: we are sometimes closely implicated in them, and fear is a visceral, personal experience. Fear and anxiety can be irrational, or rooted in realities that threaten us unevenly. When can we transform our phobia into an embrace? How do we find ways to live alongside the threats of the world? And how are artists working closely – and in nuanced ways – with the instinctive feeling of fear? Featuring an interview with Webs of Life artist Tomás Saraceno, an original sound work by Lamin Fofana, a reading by P. Staff from the Serpentine archive, and Serpentine curator Claude Adjil in conversation with Gaylene Gould.  Subscribe to Serpentine Podcast now to be the first to hear new Intimacies episodes. You can connect with the series on socials @serpentineuk, and you can find more information and full descriptive transcripts at www.serpentinegalleries.org/art-and-ideas/serpentine-podcast-intimacies/. CREDITS Hosted by Gaylene Gould Produced by Katie Callin (Reduced Listening) Production support by Nada Smiljanic (Reduced Listening) Executive production by Anishka Sharma (Reduced Listening) Curated by Hanna Girma and Fiona Glen Mix engineering by Jesse Lawson (Reduced Listening) Theme music by Hinako Omori Visual identity by the unloved ABOUT INTIMACIES Serpentine Podcast: Intimacies explores the complexities of closeness, and asks how we can expand and evolve our intimacy with others, ourselves, and the world around us. Join our host, Gaylene Gould, as she gathers perspectives from artists, designers, writers, thinkers, and more on how we can rekindle trust, and open ourselves up to new possibilities for connection. Confronting the slippery topics of fear, vulnerability, sex, love and loneliness in art and life, the Intimacies series delves into the feelings and experiences which we don’t always voice – from our relationships with family or strangers, to the things we fear most and our deepest desires, to our surroundings and our innermost selves. Each episode combines interviews, original audio works, conversations, and pieces from the Serpentine archive. This series itself is personal, emotional, reflective, and an exploration of vulnerability in many ways. 

Following strangers, we turn to the people our lives are first entangled with: our families. Family is a contested and challenging space for some, while being a place where others find sanctuary, safety, and profound relationships. This episode considers different expectations and realities of love, care and identity within biological and chosen families, and asks how we intentionally nurture, negotiate and shift our family relationships. How and why do artists involve their family members and homes in their work – and what do they need to take into consideration when bringing this to an audience? Featuring an original sound work by Angelo Madsen Minax, an interview with Hetain Patel, audio excerpts from projects led by Helen Cammock and Rehana Zaman from the Serpentine archive, and Serpentine curator Lizzie Graham in conversation with Gaylene Gould. Subscribe to Serpentine Podcast now to be the first to hear new Intimacies episodes. You can connect with the series on socials @serpentineuk, and you can find more information and full descriptive transcripts at www.serpentinegalleries.org/art-and-ideas/serpentine-podcast-intimacies/. CREDITS Hosted by Gaylene Gould Produced by Katie Callin (Reduced Listening) Production support by Nada Smiljanic (Reduced Listening) Executive production by Anishka Sharma (Reduced Listening) Curated by Hanna Girma and Fiona Glen Mix engineering by Jesse Lawson (Reduced Listening) Theme music by Hinako Omori Visual identity by the unloved Reading from the introduction to adrienne maree brown’s Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation (2021, AK Press). ABOUT INTIMACIES Serpentine Podcast: Intimacies explores the complexities of closeness, and asks how we can expand and evolve our intimacy with others, ourselves, and the world around us. Join our host, Gaylene Gould, as she gathers perspectives from artists, designers, writers, thinkers, and more on how we can rekindle trust, and open ourselves up to new possibilities for connection. Confronting the slippery topics of fear, vulnerability, sex, love and loneliness in art and life, the Intimacies series delves into the feelings and experiences which we don’t always voice – from our relationships with family or strangers, to the things we fear most and our deepest desires, to our surroundings and our innermost selves. Each episode combines interviews, original audio works, conversations, and pieces from the Serpentine archive. This series itself is personal, emotional, reflective, and an exploration of vulnerability in many ways.