FKA twigs unveils ‘The Eleven’ at Sotheby’s and tells us about ‘Eusexua’
The singer and multi-disciplinary artist unveiled her latest offering this morning.
By Nick Reilly
FKA twigs has unveiled her latest work of art at Sotheby’s, as well as telling Rolling Stone UK about the genesis of her latest record.
Today (September 13) saw the singer unveil The Eleven, a new performance piece that is the first of its kind in the auction house and art gallery’s storied 280-year history.
The piece – developed by the singer over the last year – is performed by a rotating group of ‘movers’ who will show off a series of body movements influenced by the singer’s experience of movement practice and somatic healing.
This, in turn, is informed by eleven key life pillars that the singer has developed in recent years. These include the idea of intake – described by Twigs as an acute awareness of everything entering our bodies and her newly-coined phrase Crone, which reflects our own relationship with technology.
The performance piece will run for the next two weeks, but its unveiling comes on the same day that the singer has released ‘Eusexua‘, a subtle and slow-burning techno track that eventually evolves into something grander.
It’s the first track from her forthcoming third album, the first since 2019’s Magdalene.
Asked about the new album, Twigs told Rolling Stone UK how ‘Eusexua’ was informed by our own relationships with elation.
“I describe Eusexua as a pinnacle of human experience,” explained Twigs.
“It’s what I hope the Movers are feeling right now in that room. It’s the feeling of dancing all night and losing hours to the beat. It’s the feeling of having a great idea and the moment, just before a brilliant idea. That moment of complete clarity before you have the idea.
“There’s a lot of writers in here today and when I write songs sometimes, I’m trying to think of what I want to say and I can’t get it out. You get that moment where you think it’s not going to happen and then ping! All of a sudden, you can write a whole page in 10 minutes. That’s Eusexua.
“I describe it as being like the moment before an orgasm. A moment of nothingness. It’s just a pinnacle of human experience and in this busy world that’s what I feel like I missed.”
Opening up about how this idea of Eusexua represents personal freedom, she added: “I feel that for a lot of my teenage years I was very lucky to spend in a state of Eusexua, a state of nothingness or daydream. Growing up in Gloucestershire I would sometimes just go on a Saturday and sit outside and there was this big oak tree and it was just hollow after being struck by lightning. I could sit there for three hours and just look at it and it didn’t feel weird.”
FKA Twigs’ The Eleven runs for the next two weeks. Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM–4:30 PM and Saturday–Sunday, 1:00 PM–4:30PM.