Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile – Orleans House Gallery, London

A review of Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile, a collaboration between artist Himali Singh Soin and historian of science Alexis Rider. The Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham is a unique and somehow fitting space to host this insightful and participatory exhibition.

An Outing To Twickenham To Visit Orleans House

In all my years in London, this is the very first time I have been to Twickenham. It seems delightful, and as there are a lot of cultural and historic sites here, I’m sure I will be back. It’s easily reachable from Waterloo if you’re not in South West London already. You could make a day or a weekend of it, visiting Ham House, Strawberry Hill, Turner’s House, Pope’s Grotto, or Marble Hill. Or if that’s not your speed, there’s also the World Rugby Museum, and Eel Pie Island Museum. Interspersed with some lovely riverside walks and pubs, of course. On this occasion, however, I was in Twickenham with a specific purpose: to visit Orleans House Gallery and their temporary exhibition Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile.

I love seeing challenging, progressive art in historic spaces. There is something about the juxtaposition that feels important, a reclaiming or subversion. In that sense, this is almost a perfect pairing. Before we get onto that, however, the story of Orleans House itself is an interesting one and deserves a little attention. Let’s explore.

Orleans House Gallery

So there are plenty of historic homes in Twickenham, as listed above. Not surprising, it’s a lovely spot on the river. Orleans House, dating to 1710 and the work of architect John James, was not originally named Orleans House. It took on this name later, thank to a famous resident. It was one of the first large homes along this stretch of river, and welcomed visitors including George I, Robert Walpole and Queen Caroline. Various extensions were added to the original Palladian design, including a Baroque Octagon Room by James Gibb.

Where the ‘Orleans’ comes in is in the 19th Century. Between 1813 and 1815 Louis Philippe, later King of the French (a deliberate distinction from King of France), lived here. I’ve been reading up on him, and he had a very eventful life. Due to the Revolutions of 1789 and 1848 he spent many years in exile. This included stints in Switzerland, Lapland, the USA and… Twickenham. Louis Philippe was part of the Orléans family, hence the renaming of the house.

By the 20th Century, Orleans House was in disrepair. So bad, in fact, that most of it was demolished in 1926, the site becoming a gravel quarry. We have one woman to thank for saving what remained: Nellie Ionides. Nellie lived close to Orleans House. After the demolition of the main house and additional buildings, she purchased the remainder – the Octagon Room and stables. Nellie also had an extensive art collection, including many local topographical views. Upon her death, she donated a substantial portion of this collection to what is now the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames. Richmond Arts Service today manages Orleans House, and a selection of works from Nellie’s collection is displayed here.

So from royal connections to almost becoming a gravel pit, Orleans House has survived to become a space for contemporary exhibitions, events and education.

Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil

Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile is one such contemporary exhibition. It is the work of artist Himali Singh Soin in collaboration with historian of science Alexis Rider. The source material under investigation is Sir Richard Burton. Not the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton one, but the famous explorer one. This guy was a proper Victorian explorer. He spoke a crazy number of languages, travelled in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, snuck into Mecca in disguise, and quite liked the kama sutra. He was connected to the East India Company and later the Royal Geographical Society. After his death, his wife Isabel burned many of his papers, but there is nonetheless a Burton Collection at Orleans House. Burton went to school not far from Twickenham, and his grave is also nearby.

All of this background is to provide context, rather than centre Burton rather than the bigger questions posed by Singh Soin and Rider. Burton was particularly famous for his search for the source of the Nile. ‘Settling’ the Nile’s source was a question which really gripped Victorians, as they attempted to explore, dominate and order both physical spaces (and peoples) and knowledge. Singh Soin and Rider instead bring the Nile itself back to the forefront, rather than its exploration.

They do this through a series of images and texts. The images are overlaid – images from Burton’s archives together with contemporary images of the Nile. And the texts offer multiple narratives which, as the title suggests, ‘unsettle’ the settling of the Nile’s source. Is the source of the Nile physical (Lake Victoria)? Imagined (Lunae Montes)? Meteorological (the dry season)? Archival? Cultural? The search itself?

Democratising the Exhibition

This is an exhibition about the fallacy of fact and order. The source of the Nile is not a single fact to discover, the answer depends on what you mean by the question in the first place, how you understand the world. To further reinforce this democratisation of knowledge, the exhibition itself is participatory. Visitors are encouraged to ‘choose your own adventure’, by moving and reordering the images and texts. The process becomes fluid, messy and mysterious, like the river itself.

Long-time readers know me – I love an exhibition which decolonises and challenges Western ways of knowing and ordering (see this post or this one). Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil takes this even further. Singh Soin and Rider have played on Burton’s interests to ‘eroticize’ the archive. The Western male desire for geopolitical control becomes playful – feminine, like a river. This is an exhibition which looks simple, but packs a real punch.

Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile is on until mid-March next year. It is fascinating and challenging, and comes recommended by the Salterton Arts Review. I was lucky to see it on its opening evening with a violin performance by Blaize Henry in response to the exhibition. Keep an eye on this page for more upcoming events.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Brow of a God/Jaw of a Devil: Unsettling the Source of the Nile on until 13 March 2022