Walk Like An Egyptian

Matthew Barney’s arcane artistic practice extends across sculpture, film and performance art, though he is best known for his sumptuous feature-length films, which include the epic Cremaster Cycle, and more recently, Drawing Restraint 9 (in which Barney stars alongside his partner Björk). Ever obsessed with mythological thought structures (he has created a fair few of his own) Barney has long been inspired by Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel, Ancient Evenings, set in ancient Egypt. This month at Sadie Coles HQ he will be exhibiting the new works from his ongoing Ancient Evenings project—intricate drawings in graphite and ink and sculptures of copper, gold plate and salt—which are based upon the Egyptian belief that the soul passes through seven stages after death.