Jemi Gale: donut king (paintings about love)
⬤ Suite 7a 10 Jun - 12 Jun 2022
My brother once told me that if he goes anywhere where there are donuts, he will always buy one. It’s a literal sweet indulgence. donuts, in this scenario, are a charm: they not only allure, but they’re also ritualistic or a token of good luck. This process—the transmutation of mass-produced goods into objects of personal pleasure and charm—is made manifest in Jemi Gale’s new body of work donut king (paintings about love). Here, donuts are objects of, but also metaphors for a mode of sugary, hyperactive consumption, and the minor pleasures that accompany it: love and loving, desire, and indulgence.
6 cinnamon donuts
strawberry milkshake please
happy smiles factory
it’s a share in a dream
nothing can hurt us
pure light source energy
-Jemi Gale, extract from poem accompanying the work you look like when the sky looks pretty, 2022
Gale’s donut king (paintings about love) was exhibited from the 10th to the 12th of June at Suite7a, currently located in Potts Point (works in store available to view via appointment). Suite7a avoids easy categorisation. Although they began as a studio in Darlinghurst, their priority is to “change as we learn”, and they now seem to operate mostly as a kind of artist-run, reasonably affordable, art store that prioritises the independence and autonomy of artists. The predominant option for unsigned artists exhibiting in Sydney is to pay a significant space hire fee at an ARI—Suite7a, in a transparent and malleable way, offers an alternative.
Audrey Pfister (sometimes-) writes, edits, Djs, and works in the arts on Gadigal and Thawaral lands. They have a Bachelor of Art Theory and First Class Honours in Arts (Media, Culture, Technology). Lately they’ve been writing a lot about art, love, and friendship, but they swear they can write funny and/or serious pieces too.
