Within the reverent walls of St Mary le Strand in London, Es Devlin’s CONGREGATION commands attention as a profound reflection on displacement, identity, and resilience. Fifty monumental chalk and charcoal portraits of displaced Londoners rise inside the church, each co-authored with the sitters. These individuals, who have experienced forced migration, hold a box that represents the contributions and stories they bring to their new home in London. These portraits are not simply static images, but the result of a dialogue—an active collaboration between the artist and the sitters—transforming portraiture into living narratives. In this sacred sanctuary, the project captures the spirit of London’s ever-evolving human landscape, merging art and storytelling into a powerful tribute to the endurance of the human spirit.
CONGREGATION, curated by Ekow Eshun and created in collaboration with UK for UNHCR, draws on Devlin’s months of intimate portrait sessions, inspired by her research into works from The Courtauld’s collection, from Albrecht Dürer to Frank Auerbach. Each sitter’s experience became an integral part of the artwork, with their personal stories contributing to both the visual and emotional layers of the installation. As Devlin describes, the process of portrait-making was an exercise in mutual openness—one that sought to dismantle the invisible boundaries between artist and subject. The installation transforms St Mary le Strand into a vessel for human connection, with Polyphonia’s choral arrangements echoing through the Strand, blurring the boundaries between public and private, visibility and silence.
Devlin’s past works, such as the Poem Pavilion at Expo 2020 and Forest of Us, have often explored themes of interconnection and empathy. In CONGREGATION, this vision is brought into sharp focus, engaging with the global reality of displacement and migration, while echoing London’s own long history as a city shaped by those seeking refuge. This installation, set against the backdrop of a church built amidst centuries of trade and migration along the Strand, reflects resilience and the possibilities of connection amidst adversity.
This interview with Whitewall delves into Devlin’s creative process, the personal stories behind CONGREGATION, and how this historic church, nestled between Somerset House and The Courtauld, has become a powerful stage for the resilience and interconnectedness of human experience—defying borders and time.
“CONGREGATION,” Es Devlin. Photograph by Daniel Devlin. Courtesy of the artist.
WHITEWALL: CONGREGATION engages with themes of forced displacement and migration. What was your approach in translating the personal stories of these 50 Londoners into large-scale portraits, and how did their experiences shape the creative direction of the installation?
ES DEVLIN: I was encouraged by the outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees in 2022 and wanted to understand what structures were blocking such porosity and compassion towards those seeking refuge from other global conflicts of equal magnitude, for example, in Syria, Sudan, and Afghanistan. I thought—if these architectures of otherness and separation are at work within my community in London and nationally, they are probably embedded within myself, and I wanted to start by confronting them in myself, to better understand and help dismantle them in myself and others.
I wanted to meet each person through the lens of my own overlays and biases. I met each as a stranger. I knew only their first name, and that, at some point in their life, they had had to seek refuge. It might have been as a child decades ago on a UNHCR airlift, or it might have been a few months ago on a small boat—I didn’t know.
The drawing session lasted 45 minutes: in silence, looking directly into each other’s eyes, listening to Max Richter’s recomposition of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” I later realized that the original “Four Seasons” was published three months before the consecration of St Mary le Strand church in 1724.
When we reached track 14, we stopped drawing, and the stranger told me their story. The portrait ached at me from the periphery—drawing my attention to all the assumptions I had inevitably overlaid. Each co-author envisaged what should be painted within the empty box they held on their lap like a gift. The emphasis is not on what people arriving in London are here to take, but on what they bring, what they give.
“CONGREGATION,” Es Devlin. Photograph by Daniel Devlin. Courtesy of the artist.
“The emphasis is not on what people arriving in London are here to take, but on what they bring, what they give,”
Es Devlin
Invoking Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach with Elements of the Earth
WW: Your research into 500 years of portraiture at The Courtauld, from Albrecht Dürer to Frank Auerbach, informs the work. How did you reconcile these historical influences with the contemporary realities of forced migration in your artistic approach?
ED: I chose chalk and charcoal because I had recently been moved by the way these elements of the earth hold time and light in the sketchbooks of Lucian Freud at the National Portrait Gallery and in Frank Auerbach’s charcoal heads at The Courtauld. Both Freud and Auerbach came to London as refugees from the Nazis in the 1930s. The Courtauld itself was founded by Huguenot refugees from France. Jenny Saville and David Hockney both describe their work as marking the traces of time spent in the company of their subjects. The Courtauld portrait collection is a dense repository of five centuries of time spent tracing light as it falls on each brow, on each hand, within each eye.
Photograph by Daniel Devlin. Courtesy of the artist.
Co-Authors and Collaborations which Bring Light and Spirit
WW: Each portrait sitter co-authored their work by envisioning an animated sequence inside a box. Could you comment on the significance of giving them this agency in the creative process, and how did their individual contributions enhance the narrative of CONGREGATION?
ED: I believe there are always many co-authors in any piece of work: the light, the time, the subject, the sounds. In this case, the co-authors were not invited to ‘sit’ for a portrait; they were invited to co-author a work, to bring to it their light, their spirit, their gifts.
WW: The collaboration with UK for UNHCR and the inclusion of choral music performed outside the church evokes a sense of both sanctuary and visibility. How did the sonic element, composed by Polyphonia, contribute to the emotional atmosphere of the installation?
ED: For 30 years, I have been making work in opera, theatre, arena and stadium concerts, fashion shows. I have learned that it’s the constellation of light, sound, and space that touches us: you think you are watching a work, but you are really listening to it too. We meet work through our ears and eyes, through the hairs on our skin and the soles of our feet.
Eman Elsafi in portrait session with Es Devlin. Photograph by Samin Saadat. Courtesy of the artist.
“I have learned that it’s the constellation of light, sound, and space that touches us: you think you are watching a work, but you are really listening to it too,”
Es Devlin
WW: You’ve worked with film director Ruth Hogben and choreographer Botis Seva to bring CONGREGATION to life. Could you elaborate on how this interdisciplinary collaboration informed the final presentation and deepened the storytelling?
ED: It began with a poem. JJ Bola responded to my poem with his. Botis Seva responded to the words with movement. Ruth responded to the movement and text in film.
WW: The 18th-century church of St Mary le Strand, holds historical resonance as both a sanctuary and a migratory artery of the city. How do you see the architectural and historical context of the church influencing the audience’s perception of the work?
ED: We have removed the pews: a signal that different rules apply. The evening choirs are a call out to the public to make this church their commons, a place of congregation for all. Buildings have voices. James Gibbs, the church’s architect, stitched clandestine Catholic symbols into the jewel-like interior plasterwork at a time of persecution by Protestants.
Mayor Sadiq Khan at “CONGREGATION,” Es Devlin. Photograph by Daniel Devlin. Courtesy of the artist.
Exploring Art as a Tool for Social Change which Resonates with Viewers
WW: In light of your previous large-scale projects that focus on global issues, how does CONGREGATION further your exploration of art as a tool for social change, particularly in raising awareness about forced displacement and refugee experiences?
ED: Each group of 50 audience members meets the group of 50 co-authors: the congregation is the meeting of these two groups. A temporary community is formed, a rehearsal society. We are moved because we feel proud to be part of this group, and we are moved because we realize we don’t always feel this way.
WW: CONGREGATION is rooted in the stories of displaced individuals, but it is also a celebration of the resilience and global roots of London’s community. How do you hope the project will resonate with viewers, both in terms of empathy for refugees and a broader reflection on the concept of belonging?
ED: The 50 co-authors have taught me about the world and about myself. I hope the work resonates with the words of JJ Bola: “Home is the other we carry inside us: home is us: is we.”
How to Experience CONGREGATION
For those interested in experiencing CONGREGATION and exploring its themes further, here are a few ways to get involved: You can book a viewing slot for CONGREGATION, on display from 4–9 October, and discover more about each of the co-authors here. Join Es Devlin and Ekow Eshun in conversation at the National Portrait Gallery on Friday, 11 October. Secure your tickets here. If you’re interested in supporting the cause, limited editions and books from CONGREGATION are available from The Courtauld shop. 80% of the price of each CONGREGATION book will be donated to UNHCR to support refugees globally. Find out more here.
