Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, 5-9 Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland

Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca: Swinguerra

2019 saw Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca represent Brazil at the Venice Biennale with a new video titled ‘Swinguerra,’ in the Giardini della Biennale. And whilst it’s less than a year since Venice, the world that ‘Swinguerra’ originally inhabited seems like a lifetime ago. Its presentation in Temple Bar Gallery + Studios in Dublin comes amidst a global pandemic, blazing wildfires and a deepening culture war on both sides of the Atlantic. And whilst these topics have dominated the media 2020, they have been core issues in Brazil for a number of years with the continued deforestation of the Amazon and increasing violence against LGBTQ+ communities. Review by Aidan Kelly Murphy

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MeetFactory, o. p. s., Ke Sklárně 3213/15, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic

Spiritualities: Three Contemporary Portrayals of Transcendence and Beliefs

Curated by Tereza Jindrová, the exhibition inaugurated a long-term programme line titled ‘Other Knowledge’. If one of the pillars of Western modernity is rationality and the division between nature and culture, the involved artists challenge both of these notions and propose to open up to a much wider array of epistemologies. Review by Jaroslava Tomanova

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Kiasma, Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki, Finland

Liisa Lounila: Shadow Zone

There’s a stillness in Liisa Lounila’s moving image works that inspires an urge to slow-down, to sit-down and to stay put, for a while. ‘Shadow Zone’, a collection of Lounila’s works from 2008 to 2020, challenges the viewer to observe the slight nuances in a seemingly repetitive world. Though spanning over a decade, the pieces selected remain relevant today; reflecting on broad themes such as the environment and consumerism, while providing a space in which to reinvigorate our relationship with the screen and digital media. Review by Selina Oakes

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Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Ely House, 37 Dover Street, London W1S 4NJ

Hito Steyerl and Harun Farocki: Life Captured Still

For those who might ask why her work resonated so thoroughly with the generation just before her, the 'Life Captured Still' exhibition at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac may offer some answers. A selection of Hito Steyerl’s work was shown alongside a major influence on her life and work; the late filmmaker and video artist Harun Farocki. This exploration of the connections between these two prominent German filmmakers and visual artists was the first major posthumous exhibition of Harun Farocki’s work in the UK and, remarkably, the first exhibition to put their work in conversation together. Review by Chris Hayes

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Holt/Smithson Foundation (online)

Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson: Friday Film Programme

Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson are two key figures in earth, land, and conceptual art, pioneering some of the most influential site-specific installations and video work in the 20th century. As many galleries and museums are continuing to find new digital means of presenting their programme, the Holt/Smithson Foundation launched a weekly film programme of both artists’ most iconic films alongside lesser known works with each available for just 24 hours. Throughout the series we see each artist in a new light, framed around the early experimental energy of video art as they explore artistic collaboration and themes of presence and absence against the backdrop of their monumental earthworks. Review by Aileen Dowling

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Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA

Cao Fei: Blueprints

On the wall of a lobby, against a deep red velvet backdrop, a prophetic message welcomes the visitor: ‘In our splendid universe, motion pictures mirror our reality’. In Cao Fei’s ‘Blueprints’, different worlds merge and flip. Combining theatrical sets, photography, moving images, and her first VR work, the artist traces patterns of reality, teleporting visitors through distant territories and histories. Focusing on the district of Jiuxianqiao in Beijing, where the first Chinese computer was invented, the exhibition offers local perspectives of contemporary technological developments in China, mapping feelings that resonate globally. Review by Giulia Civardi

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Danielle Arnaud Gallery, 123 Kennington Rd, Prince's, London SE11 6SF

David Cotterrell | Mirror III: Horizon

‘Mirror III: Horizon’ is part of a broader’ project series’ created by London-based artist David Cotterrell in collaboration with Ruwanthie de Chikera. ‘Mirror III: Horizon’ is part of the six-week online programme curated by Tess Charnley of Danielle Arnaud Gallery, titled ‘Mis(sing) Communication. ‘Mirror III: Horizon’ is profoundly complex, evident in both the making of the project and also throughout the thematic intersections the work addresses. These intersections relate to anxiety and empathy, feelings brought forth by the inherent fear of isolation, risk and the unknown. All this is set against the context of the ongoing global refugee crisis. Review by Sheena Carrington

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Glasgow International 2020: Digital Programme

The COVID-19 pandemic has cleared the cultural calendar for the foreseeable future and Glasgow International, Scotland’s largest festival of contemporary art, has been postponed until 2021. Indeed, the cancellation of a festival which was planned to span 60 exhibitions and 120 artists will be a disappointment to artists and the public alike. The digital programme is the unintended consequence of this unforeseen event. Review by Hailey Maxwell

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Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Among the Trees

Historically in western art, trees have generally been depicted as ornamental afterthoughts, their upright forms used to frame a scene or add definition to a landscape. ‘Among the Trees’ at Hayward Gallery, however, puts trees centre-stage, emphasising images where branches and leaves fill the frame, confusing the eye and defying the human scale of the viewfinder or canvas. Review by Anna Souter

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Villa Romana, Via Senese, 68 50124 Florence, Italy

Lerato Shadi: MOSI KE O NE …

The artist, Lerato Shadi, is a South African, Berlin-based artist. ‘MOSI KE O NE’ begins with Shadi walking through a labyrinth of trees in the Italian countryside. Shadi is poised, dressed in all white, and the camera never reveals her face. She moves effortlessly, and her calm demeanour invites the viewer to follow her—the landscape of Shadi's work functions as a compelling narrative. ‘MOSI KE O NE’ is filmed outside of the traditional white-cube gallery setting. The landscape demonstrates how our bodies intrinsically connect to the earth. Review by Sheena Carrington

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Kadist, Paris, 19bis/21 rue des Trois Frères, 75018, France and Kadist, 3295 20th Street CA 94110, San Francisco, USA

AP: Assembled Personalities

The computer screen: the only gallery left open during lockdown. We’re glued to laptops and their infinite possibilities – but they also have a few obvious limitations. So how do galleries render art that is both authentic and innovative in this paradox? Showing films are at the front of the queue – we can choose to pause, re-watch, fast-forward at our own pace, which we can’t do in a gallery. ‘AP: Assembled Personalities’ for gallery Kadist, is an online exhibition of film that, as the title suggests, addresses the identities of five artists: Guy Ben-Ner, Keren Cytter, Alex Da Corte, Mark Leckey, and Li Ran. Review by Ted Targett

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Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

Masculinities: Liberation through Photography

‘Masculinities: Liberation through Photography’ at the Barbican Centre is a masterful, comprehensive exhibition that outlines a sweeping artistic history that is probing, insightful and moving. Exploring how masculinity has been coded, performed, and socially constructed from the 1960s to the present day, this is a show of 50 international artists working through the medium of film and photography. Working across themes from queer identity, female perceptions of men, hypermasculine stereotypes, many of the participants don't sit easily within a gender binary, and rarely is the story told without an overlap to class, racism and the Western gaze; this is masculinity at its fullest. Review by Chris Hayes

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Grand Union, 19 Minerva Works, Fazeley Street, Birmingham B5 5RS

Jamie Crewe: Love & Solidarity

The term ‘community’ conjures images of disparate individuals joined by shared interests, experiences, cultures, or religion. But the term also groups unquestioningly, disregarding an acknowledgement that frictions can - and do - exist. Jamie Crewe’s ‘Love & Solidarity’ at Grand Union, Birmingham, the sister exhibition of ‘Solidarity & Love’ at Humber Street Gallery, Hull, offers a conflictual understanding of kinship, and parameters for queer love and disdain. Review by Ryan Kearney

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narrative projects, 110 New Cavendish Street, Fitzrovia, London W1W 6XR

Rachel Lowe: SPLIT

Eighty black and white slides, created from found photographs of assorted different women, are projected chronologically so as to suggest the life of one individual woman. Having removed the central section, where the female subject should be, from each photograph, the re-assembled images now possess a vertical seam running down their centres. The physical incision enacted upon the images does not remove the woman's presence entirely, leaving the fictional "Elizabeth" of the title, somehow present and absent at the same time. Find out more about Rachel Lowe: SPLIT at narrative projects.

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