UNSPOKEN: memories of the future, 1 May to 19 June 2026

Our latest exhibition opening on 1 May 2026 is a collaboration between Donovan Pennant, Tom Harris, Abbas Zahedi and Dawn Wray with a series live performances, reflective sessions, a film screening, and soundscapes exploring listening as a form of reflection on experience.

Unspoken: memories of the future combines images of the Meadows in Nottingham (1989–2026) with sound to reflect on how the past shapes the present, and the future.  The interplay of sound and image, familiar and unfamiliar realities, encourages viewers to pause, reflect, and listen closely, to think about their memories, their sense of self, and their connection to the world around them.

“The purest form of listening is without memory or desire.”— Wilfred Bion

Unspoken: memories of the future is sociological filmmaking and photography documenting the historical development of the Meadows interwoven with improvised ambient sound, generated in the present. The sound acts as both interruption and intervention - intercepting established patterns and unsettling the relationship between what is seen and what is heard. This process of defamiliarisation opens space for new perceptions, inviting audiences to reimagine their own imaginings.

At its core, this collaboration offers audiences a framework for sensing and processing a changing world - asking what do our memories reveal about us? Which experiences endure, and why? What is forgotten, edited, or transformed—and what does that say about what matters?Drawing on the psychoanalytic concept of “memories of the future,” developed by renowned psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion, and expanded through Marilyn Charles’ exploration of behavioural and perceptual patterns, Tom and Donovan consider how remnants of the past shape present awareness and extend into imagined futures. These patterns - psychic, social, and embodied - form a field through which we move, often unconsciously.

Unspoken: memories of the future emerged from a series of weekly conversations between Tom and Donovan which began in December 2025. Tom chose not to record these conversations, in contrast to his usual practice. Instead, memory itself became the medium - shaping what was retained, what was lost, and what was unconsciously rewritten. The exhibition includes short written reflections from each artist, tracing what remained and what evolved. affective memories.

“There is no such thing as a silent observer.”

Donovan’s visuals invite viewers into everyday life in the Meadows, asking them to consider what has changed - and what persists - between then and now. Through their alchemy with sound, these images are transformed, opening alternative readings and emotional resonances.

The improvised music introduces a contained chaos - shifting meanings in real time, akin to a process of divination. Drawing from traditions such as Black church practices- where sound creates space for the spirit to descend - the work engages vibration, harmony, and rhythm as forces that hold and move collective experience. In this way, sound becomes both container and catalyst, supporting the intimate and relational dimensions of our lives.

During the exhibition there will be live improvised performances by Tom Harris, and reflective sessions with Coreset resident, psychotherapist, Dawn Wray, offering audiences space to engage with their own responses and inner landscapes.

Also, we are pleased to broadcast Sonic Support: ECO (The Extracorporeal Orchestra) which is recorded at Royal Trinity Hospice in collaboration with Studio Voltaire. Each broadcast offers a distinct, improvisational approach to listening, shared presence and engagement with grief, death and dying.⁠  Created by Tom Harris and Abbas Zahedi exploring how sound can support reflection, care and creative expression within end of life and healthcare contexts. ⁠