Freudian Typo Explores Debt and Colonial Memory in Dual London Exhibitions
The duo of Iranian-Canadian artists, Ghazaleh Avarzamani and Ali Ahadi, known as Freudian Typo, are showcasing their solo exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery and the Delfina Foundation in London. Their mixed-media installations delve into the effects of debt on memory, morality, and post-colonial dynamics. At the Hayward Gallery, a prominent piece features a cat sculpture named Palmerston, who served as the British Foreign Office's chief mouser until 2020, alongside a digital display that reads "TRUTH AND RECONSOLIDATION," linking colonial history to finance. Meanwhile, the Delfina Foundation transforms into a "Debterinary" waiting area, displaying humorous HMRC posters and a reworked Churchill statue. A dimly lit room features a film of a cat in surgery, challenging notions of debt and value. Both exhibitions critique the influence of debt on colonial governance and global economic frameworks.
Key facts
- Freudian Typo is an Iranian-Canadian artist duo formed of Ghazaleh Avarzamani and Ali Ahadi.
- Their solo exhibitions are split between the Hayward Gallery and Delfina Foundation in London.
- The Hayward installation features a mixed-media cat sculpture named Palmerston, referencing the real chief mouser of the British Foreign Office until 2020.
- A digital sign reads "TRUTH AND RECONSOLIDATION," a deliberate misspelling of "truth and reconciliation" to invoke memory reconsolidation from psychology.
- The Delfina Foundation hosts an immersive "Debterinary" waiting room with institutional parody posters and a modified Winston Churchill statue model.
- A film shows a cat undergoing veterinary surgery, with audio dialogues about debt and value recovery.
- Texts from the nursery rhyme "The Old Woman and Her Pig" and the Aramaic song "Chad Gadya" are incorporated, both being cumulative tales.
- The work explores debt as a colonial tool and its impact on global economic systems, memory, and morality.
Entities
Artists
- Ghazaleh Avarzamani
- Ali Ahadi
- Freudian Typo
- Yoshitomo Nara
- John Tanner
- Winston Churchill
Institutions
- Hayward Gallery
- Delfina Foundation
- Royal Mint
- British Foreign Office
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office
- HM Revenue and Customs
- HMRC
- Canvas
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- City of London
- Somerset House
- Great Scotland Yard
- War Office
- Buckingham Palace
- Parliament Square
- Iran
- Canada