Terence Gower in conversation with Evan Davis

This October, join artist Terence Gower in conversation with presenter and journalist Evan Davis.

Terence Gower’s Enemies and Rascals examines the 1775-76 Invasion of Quebec, a largely forgotten but pivotal military campaign during the American War of Independence. Gower describes the conflict between The Thirteen Colonies (soon to become the United States) and the Province of Quebec as a 'galvanising event' for the identities of the US and Canada.

Evan Davis is the current host of the BBC Radio 4 daily news show PM, where he draws on his expertise in geopolitics and economics to examine contemporary political and international affairs. He is also the author of Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It (2017) which examines the role of deception, spin, and selective uses of the truth in shaping political communication and public discourse.

While Enemies and Rascals’ focus is on history and the archive, Gower and Davis will discuss the timely nature of the artist’s new audio installation, which unearths a 250-year-old geo-political propaganda campaign with echoes in the present day.

Yet to experience Enemies and Rascals? Additional presentations of the artwork will be taking place before the event.*

*You are welcome to join the presentations at any time. If you’d like to experience the artwork from the beginning, the audio installation is on a 40-minute loop with starting times at 5.45pm and 6.30pm.

Speakers

Canadian artist Terence Gower lives and works between New York, Mexico City, and France. Known for a research-driven practice dealing with archives, Gower has spent the past 15 years focusing on U.S. international Cold War geopolitics – an interest seeded by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 2010. 

In 2024, The Power Plant Toronto presented EMBASSY, a survey show of Gower’s work on cold war geopolitics, featuring over a decade of research into mid-century US diplomatic architecture using sculpture, video, and archival documents. Gower presented two related architectural interventions in 2023; at Philip Johnson’s Glass House (New Canaan, CT), and at Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, both using installation and musical performance to examine the social and acoustical characteristics of each site.

Recent large-scale commissions include Project Etere, Bali; Six Formes, Geneva; SuperPuesto, and Noguchi Galaxy, New York; Workshop Pavilion, Léon, Spain; and Bicycle Pavilion, Mexico City. He has participated in the Gwangju, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Chicago (Architecture), Canadian (National Gallery), and Havana Biennials. His video works have screened internationally at venues including the Stedelijk Museum, Museo Nacional Reina Sofia, and film festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Enemies and Rascals marks an important development in Gower’s practice: his first major commission in London, the first time Gower has used sources outside the twentieth century, and his first collaboration with a sound designer, audio director, and script developer.

Evan Davis is the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 daily news show, PM. He has held a number of senior presenting jobs at the BBC, including BBC2’s Newsnight programme, and the Radio 4 Today programme. He is also known as the presenter of a popular business reality show, Dragons’ Den and hosts the Radio 4 business podcast, The Bottom Line.  Prior to these roles, Evan was the Economics Editor at BBC News, the most senior economics role at the corporation. Before joining the BBC, he worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the London Business School. Evan studied at St John’s College, Oxford and at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and he has written several books, the latest of which is Post Truth: Why we have reached peak bullshit, and what we can do about it.

Access

This event will be held in-person in the Weston Room in the Maughan Library (London, WC2A 1LR). The artwork is located in the Original Cell within the same building. For information on building access, please find details on our website here.

Step-free and wheelchair access to the Weston Room is permitted by an access lift. If you require step free access to the Weston Room please contact foh@artangel.org.uk. 

Important information for wheelchair users and step-free individuals:
The Original Cell is not easily accessed by wheelchair. For information on dimensions and turning circles, please read our access statement here. If you require wheelchair access to the Original Cell please contact foh@artangel.org.uk.

Please note: The mezzanine floor in the Original Cell is an open steel grid with visibility between levels, including from below. High heels are not permitted on the mezzanine floor.

This event is presented in partnership with King’s College, London and Goodenough College.