From the Land | 10 Jul - 26 Sep 2026
SIENA TO RESIZE
The group exhibition FROM THE LAND brings together experimental projects from the Architectural Association that examine the relationship between architecture and the living world.
About the Exhibition
FROM THE LAND brings together works that examine the relationship between architecture and the living world. The projects approach architecture as a moment in a broader material flow, one that begins in the landscapes where resources are sourced, passes through the built environment, and ultimately returns to the earth.
The exhibition gathers propositions that aim to recalibrate how architecture engages with land, matter and climate. Together they imagine futures in which architecture actively supports the diversity of species, landscapes and communities, attending to the ecological, social and political systems that sustain life, rather than serving only the logics of extraction and development.
The works represent emerging approaches to material and land use in one of the most resource-intensive industries on the planet. Experimental in nature, they offer a glimpse of where a new generation is taking the profession.
Co-curated with architect, designer and educator Inigo Minns.
Architectural Projects
Nicol Vizioli is a visual artist and educator working primarily with photography and film. Trained in Fine Arts and Cinema in Rome and in Photography at the University of the Arts London, Nicol’s practice is grounded in raw physicality and a symbolic visual language. Drawing on mythology, painting, and a profound connection to the natural and animal world, her work weaves together the representational and the primal. Guided by these core principles, she moves across disciplines, currently expanding her studio practice through film and, more recently, sculpture.
Recent commissions include the London Contemporary Orchestra, Akram Khan Company, South London Gallery and Kew Botanical Gardens. Her work has been exhibited in international galleries and art fairs such as Scope Basel (CH), Somerset House (London, UK), the Zabludowicz Collection (London, UK), Trienniale di Milano (IT), The XV Biennale de la Mediterranée (Thessaloniki, GR), Roundhouse (London, UK), Watou Festival (Poperinge, BE), Rosphoto (St.Petersburgh, RU) amongst others.
Nissa Nishikawa’s multidimensional practice comprises performance, poetry, painting, sculpture, and moving image. She researches and interprets traditional forms of dance, ritual, and craft in ways that illuminate animistic and alchemical philosophies through an embodied and structural approach. Nishikawa often works in the open air and in studios equipped to house fire, interconnecting the arcane with the supra-sensual, the living earth, and its conscious inhabitants.
Kapila Venu is a practitioner of Kutiyattam, one of the oldest living theatre traditions in the world, from Kerala, India. She is a disciple of the legendary Kutiyattam maestro Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar and the renowned exponents Guru G Venu and Guru Usha Nangiar. She is also a practitioner of Mohiniyattam dance, which she learned from her mother Guru Nirmala Paniker. For more than two decades, she has travelled the world performing, teaching, and giving workshops on Kutiyattam. She has studied with renowned Japanese avant-garde dancer Min Tanaka and has performed in two of his choreographies, – Rite of the Forest (2005) and Thottangal (2007).
She has also collaborated with internationally recognised artists and scholars such as Dr. Eberhard Fischer, Peter Oskarson, and Wally Cardona. She is a guest lecturer at the National School of Drama in New Delhi and a Master Teacher at the Intercultural Theatre Institute in Singapore. A film on the life and work of Kapila Venu, titled “Kapila”, directed by Sanju Surendran, won the National Award for Best Cultural Film at the 62nd National Film Awards of the Government of India in 2014. Kapila was awarded the highest honour for young artists by the Government of India – the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, the Kumar Gandharva Samman of the Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Sanskriti Award of the Sanskriti Pratisthan.
Lewis Walker is a London-born queer, non-binary movement artist. A former Great Britain gymnast and Acrobatic Gymnastics World Champion, they trained from age 6 to 21 before earning a degree in Contemporary Dance. Their work spans theatre, film, fashion, music, and the commercial sector. Walker continues to choreograph gymnastics competition routines for the Great Britain, Italian and French national teams. Their creative vision and dynamic movement style have led to collaborations with Tim Walker, Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI, Tirzah, BULLYACHE, Burberry, UNTITLAB, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).
Beyond performance, Walker is dedicated to teaching movement as a tool for accessing deeper states of consciousness and developing a deeper understanding of consensual touch. Their Connecting to Improv workshop explores dance improvisation as a ritual of shared energy and expression, while MOVE HYPNO, a collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli, blends movement and hypnotherapy for personal transformation.
Walker is currently a Studio Wayne McGregor RESIDENT 6 artist-in-residence.
Yen-Ching is a London-based movement artist, choreographer, and teacher. Her independent research and creative practice explore the dialogue between dance, stillness, photography, and film, shaping a distinctive interdisciplinary approach.
Originally from Taiwan, Yen-Ching studied at the Taipei National University of the Arts before completing the Postgraduate Diploma Program (Edge05) and earning an MA in Contemporary Dance at London Contemporary Dance School. This rigorous training provided her with a strong technical foundation and a profound understanding of movement.
She has collaborated with a wide range of esteemed artists and companies, including Hofesh Shechter Company, Bern Ballet (under Stijn Celis), Akram Khan Company, Charles Linehan, Didy Veldman, Theo Adams Company, Stefan Jovanovic, BalletLorent, Clod Ensemble, AE, Waldorf Project, Alice Anderson, Lee Mingwei, Punchdrunk, FOS (Thomas Poulsen), and Bullyache, among others.
Image credit: Gediminas Sass
Credits
Curated by Nissa Nishikawa
Graphic Designers Nicol Vizioli and Andrew Merritt