Copeland Gallery presents Sapiens, a group exhibition running from 20 to 24 August 2025 as part of the Emerging Artists Exhibitions Programme.
Rooted in the ancient human impulse to tell stories, Sapiens explores the power of collective imagination and the role of narrative in shaping how we talk about ourselves and the world.
The exhibition takes its name from the Latin word sapiens, meaning “wise” or “one who knows.” In Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari suggests that what sets Homo sapiens apart is not only our capacity to imagine, but our ability to imagine together. From the flickering firelight of prehistoric caves to the glow of phone screens, storytelling has always been a tool for survival, memory, and belief.
In this spirit, Sapiens transforms the gallery into a contemporary cave of narrative worlds. Six emerging artists—Jiayi Chen, Samuel Domínguez, Amy Gillies, Wenhui Jiang, Yewon Lee, and Agnete H. Morell—present immersive works that draw visitors into poetic, playful, mythical, diaristic, and dreamlike spaces. Each room invites the viewer not just to look, but to step into the story—to enter, dwell, and believe.
The exhibition will feature two iterations of Nüshu: Written for Her, on Her, by Her, a ritual performance by Jiayi Chen where the artist inscribes the Nüshu script on her body as a living archive of memory, grief, and feminine resilience. A preview version will be presented during the Private View on Thursday 21 August at 8pm, alongside Chant (7:30pm), a spoken-word performance by Amy Gillies that layers collaged text into poetic reflections on language, identity, and collective futures. The full-length version of Nüshu will be performed on Saturday 23 August at 5pm.
On Sunday 24 August (3–5pm), Jiayi Chen will also lead a hands-on Nüshu Calligraphy Workshop. Drawing from the world’s only women-created writing system, the session invites participants to explore personal storytelling through brush and ink, creating their own “mountains and rivers” in bookmark form.
Copeland Gallery, London SE15 3SN from 20–24 August 2025.
