Featuring the first UK showing of Gysin's rarely-seen painting, 16.4-metre-long Calligraffiti of Fire. Calligraffiti is Gysin's magnum opus and final work.

A radical cultural visionary, visual artist, writer and performer, Gysin introduced his close friend, writer William S. Burroughs, to the techniques of 'cut-ups' and 'permutation'. Image Courtesy of Topfoto/Harold Chapman Together, they experimented in sound and image, using collage, tape recorder, light-painting, writing and film. They co-authored Third Mind, the term they used for such creative collaborations. Their work has had a pervasive influencein the arts and on underground and popular culture, affecting figures such as David Bowie, Patti Smith, Bill Laswell, Keith Haring, Michael Stipe, Genesis P. Orridge, and John Giorno.

Her work often employs ordinary media like magazines and newspaper, which are disposed of in her current home the United States, but are considered usable commodities in her native Nigeria. By re-imagining everyday waste, as well as natural materials, Nnenna’s works consistently challenges environmental neglect, consumerism and globalisation.

In his London debut exhibition, Chinese artist Huang Xu presents a series of ethereal oversize C-prints exploring the fragile nature of the contemporary global economy. The tattered remains of plastic bags from rubbish heaps in China are collected and digitally remodelled in the 3D scanners normally used by archaeologists, to produce images of haunting luminosity. Evoking the aesthetic of the sublime, Huang Xu’s vast prints capture freeze-frame shots of decay in a maelstrom of economic change.

Gérard Quenum was born in the coastal town of Porto Novo, the official capital of the Republic of Benin, in 1971. He is part of the latest generation of sophisticated young francophone artists now breaking out of Africa and demanding wider recognition for their art on the international stage. Like that of many contemporary African artists, Quenum’s work is composed of recycled objects whose diverse histories contribute much to the overall significance of the pieces themselves. But what gives his art its unique twist is his signature use of discarded dolls added to the mix of objets trouvés – that elevates the pieces into witty and whimsical ‘portraits’ of individuals or types observed in his local environment. These ‘portraits’ serve as a lens through which we see (or imagine we see) Africa itself. It is important to understand the pre-existent story with which these dolls – none of which are indigenous African dolls – are invested.

In his 75th Anniversary show, Ablade Glover, one of Ghana’s foremost painters, will exhibit a selection of work revealing his lifelong passion for life, activity and colour. Using warm pigments expressive of the sun and heat of his country, Glover depicts vibrant scenes that mirror the exuberant variety of Africa; the bustling market stalls, the brightly-attired crowds and all the energy of Ghana.

Featuring alone in the Front Gallery : “In the World, But Don’t Know the World?” a major new metal sculpture by El Anatsui, which was premiered at the 3rd Moscow Biennale in September 2009.

Accompanied by an exhibition of artists including W.S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Rachid Koraïchi, Aubrey Williams, Huang Xu and Kenji Yoshida.

El Anatsui has to date explored a wide range of different media and materials to create a wealth of different sculptural pieces over a long and distinguished career. Of late, he has drawn much attention worldwide with his highly ingenious metal sculptures made from tens of thousands of liquor bottle-tops forming magnificent wall sculptures. The title “In The World But Don’t Know the World?” references the new developments in understanding by which humanity strives to progress. The work consists of a series of independent and interchangeable units and with its free-flowing possibilities of form becomes a metaphor of the mind’s creation of meaning – as much an epistemological tool as it is an object of beauty.