Critical Edge Collective

In March 2024, Critical Edge Collective held its first exhibition titled ‘What We Bring to the Table’. Held in Safehouse 1, Peckham, the collective responded to the remnants of this former domestic structure with its social symbols of place and subverted the physical space to trigger an investigation of the relationships between inequalities, power, and ephemerality.

The show aimed to collectively draw attention to, reframe and explore alternative ways of looking at class tension, the corporal body, paradox, and power. Through a blend of performance, sculpture, painting, printmaking, and film brought together into a coherent collaborative framework each artist contributed their unique visual voice. Their shared ethos included a commitment to explore Appadurai et al’s (2021) questions about whether art, under neoliberalism, can enact social and political change:

“Is artistic, or political radicality in art still possible under the neoliberal condition? Can, or should, artistic practice constitutes a significant site of resistance? Conversely, is the contemporary art world a paradigmatic case of, and even a model for, neoliberal capitalism?”