‘Taste the divine
on the lips of lovers
Savor the divine
on the thighs of friends
Cherish the divinity
that explodes your orgasm
Love one another
and fly.’

Shaman Psalm, James Broughton

An evening of short films and discussion programmed by artist-filmmaker Sam Ashby in conjunction with his current exhibition, Sanctuary, at San Mei Gallery, Brixton. 

Giving a broader context for his research and exhibition, Ashby has selected a programme of short films by James Broughton and Joel Singer, produced in the 1970s and 80s. Exploring Radical Faerie gatherings and queer shamanic ritual, Broughton and Singer’s poetic and erotic films delight in the body, presenting a vision of a world where men have forsaken rivalry and taken up affection.

Ashby is a London-based artist-filmmaker, whose works turn to queer narratives from history, animating forgotten, hidden, and otherwise marginal lives through film, writing and publications. His current exhibition Sanctuary, commissioned by San Mei Gallery, explores queer spirituality and utopian sexualities through the figure of Peter Christopher Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934–1988), a Catholic monk who became a notable early gay filmmaker and radical queer mystic. 

The screenings are followed by a conversation with Ashby and Neena Percy (San Mei Gallery) exploring the research behind his new film, in relation to those by Broughton and Singer.  

Location

Please note this screening will be taking place off site at Studio Voltaire, 1A Nelsons Row, London SW4 7JR.

Screenings:

James Broughton and Joel Singer, Song of the Godbody, 1983, 10 mins
James Broughton and Joel Singer, Hermes Bird, 1979, 11 mins
James Broughton and Joel Singer, Shaman Psalm, 1981, 8 mins
James Broughton and Joel Singer,The Gardener of Eden, 1981, 8 mins

With thanks to Joel Singer for permission to screen these films.