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No Ordinary Love (2025)

'No Ordinary Love' was the third solo exhibition by K as part of LAX collective at FiiK Studios, Leeds running from 27th June til 13th July. Working collaboratively with photographers Jonathan Turner and Emma Bentley Fox, K  created two distinct but interrelated photographic series, 'Oceanids' and 'Family Tree' ,exploring their long-held obsession with mermaids.

 

Taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources, from Sade to Steven Arnold, Leigh Bowery to Barbie, the work taps into pop culture's enduring fascination with these mythical creatures, as well as their own personal importance and sense of escapism for K as a queer child growing up in Wakefield. 

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All works by K Walker

Make-up by K Walker and Keli Cartwright

'Oceanids' photography by Jonathan Turner

'Family Tree' photography by Emma Bentley Fox

Exhibition co-curation, production by Benjamin Barra

Technical assistance by Oliver Getley, Jack Pell, Henry Cottam, Jenny Handley, Wes Foster

Oceanids (2025) is a series of dramatic black and white studio shots taken by Jonathan Turner. They are a trove of art historical, queer and pop culture references - Derek Jarman meets Disney, Madonna meets Judy Blame - with the overall aesthetic owing a debt to multidisciplinary American artist Steven Arnold. The series depicts the various ways mermaids have been represented throughout the ages, from ancient to medieval to modern. Varying depictions include bird-like creatures, two-tail snakes and dog heads protruding from the stomach. 

Family Tree (2025) is a more intimate series of colour photographs shot on film by K’s close personal friend Emma Bentley Fox. These images seek to combine a taxonomy of mermaids and their historical origins with a kind of queered family tree. The standard format prints in addition to the qualities lent by the colour film and domestic framing help these read as family snaps, whereas their diagrammatic display reveals a more analytical approach.

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