What Shall I Take with me?
London, UK. September 2024

     “What shall I take with me?
       Will I let nothing behind me over the earth?
       How shall my heart act?
       Is it that we come in vain to live,
       to sprout over the earth?
       Let us leave at least flowers,
       let us leave at least songs.”

      Nezahualcóyotl, 15th century

What shall I take with me? is an exhibition of new monoprints
by Celeste, which are inspired by a poem of the same name by
Aztec philosopher Nezahualcóyotl. The poem recognises the finite
nature of life and reflects upon the idea of legacy, proposing
that if nothing else, we should use our time on earth to create
beauty. Supplementing their large-scale textile works, this series
of unique works on paper convey Celeste’s signature visual
language on a smaller, more intimate scale.

Motifs such as vessels, volcanic landscapes and celestial bodies
appear in oil on the surface of the page, each referencing a
specific theme within Celeste’s practice. The vessel has held an
important symbolism for Celeste since their formative exhibition
in 2020, and it appears throughout their work as a metaphor
for the necessity of creating space for one another and for those
who encounter their work. The image of the volcano functions
as a pictorial representation of transition and imminent change
that is evocative of the process of artistic production: the eruption
is followed by a moment of darkness, the soil soon becoming
increasingly fertile.

What shall I take with me? is the first exhibition that focusses
solely on Celeste’s practice on paper, and their second solo
exhibition with Canopy Collections who first introduced their
practice to Europe in 2022.