Dr Sonya Dyer
Staff details
I am an artist and writer and resident artist at Somerset House Studios.
My practice explores where the centre is located in fictional narratives of the future.
Hailing Frequencies Open (HFO), my ongoing body of work, combines social justice with speculation, fantasy with the political.
Academic qualifications
- PhD 2021
Teaching and Supervision
I am a lecturer on the Fine Art & History of Art B.A. course and course lead for the Link Module.
Research interests
Futurity, Black Futures, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, the reproductive capabilities of Darkness, Global Futurities, Black Feminism, Post Scarcity, moving image, sculpture, text.
Publications and research outputs
Show/Exhibition
Dyer, Sonya. 2024. The Ready Room. In: "The Ready Room", Primary, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 26 January - 30 March 2024.
Dyer, Sonya. 2023. Three Parent Child. In: "Three Parent Child", River Rooms, Somerset House, United Kingdom, 2023.
Dyer, Sonya. 2022. The London Open 2022. In: "The London Open 2022", Whitechapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 30 June - 4 September 2022.
Dyer, Sonya. 2022. Whitstable Biennial. In: "Whitstable Biennial", Horsebridge Arts Centre, Whitstable, United Kingdom, 11 - 19 June 2022.
Dyer, Sonya. 2022. Directions: Forward. In: "Directions: Forward", KARST, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 14 January – 12 February 2022.
Dyer, Sonya. 2021. Temporary Compositions. In: "Temporary Compositions", Gallery 31, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom, 12 November 2021 - 20 March 2022.
Dyer, Sonya. 2021. Art Night. In: "Art Night", Somerset House, London, United Kingdom, 13 July 2021.
Dyer, Sonya. 2020. Thirteen Ways Of Looking. In: "Thirteen Ways Of Looking", Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, United Kingdom, 2 October - 13 December 2020.
Dyer, Sonya. 2019. Rewriting the Future. In: "Rewriting the Future", Site Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 27 September 2019 - 2 February 2020.
Dyer, Sonya. 2018. Decolonizing Appearance. In: "Decolonizing Appearance", CAMP / Center for Art on Migration Politics, Copenhagen, Denmark, 21 September 2018 - 30 March 2019.
Dyer, Sonya. 2018. Or, Dark Fecundity. In: "Or, Dark Fecundity", Center for Afrofuturist Studies, Iowa City, United States, 10 November 2018.
Dyer, Sonya. 2017. The Claudia Jones Space Station. In: "The Claudia Jones Space Station", BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts & The New Bridge Project, Gateshead, United Kingdom, 16 - 19 November 2017.
Dyer, Sonya. 2011. Paul Robeson Research Station. In: "Paul Robeson Research Station", Site Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 2 - 19 February 2011.
Conference or Workshop Item
Dyer, Sonya and Imhof, Barbara. 2022. 'Building Beyond: Space Architecture, Engineering and Design'. In: Building Beyond: Space Architecture, Engineering and Design. Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, United Kingdom 9 March 2022.
Dyer, Sonya. 2021. 'RELAY'. In: RELAY. Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy 16 - 17 July 2021.
Dyer, Sonya. 2020. 'Past / Future as a form of resistance'. In: Past / Future as a form of resistance. RCA Critical Practice, United Kingdom 27 July 2020.
Dyer, Sonya and Imhof, Barbara. 2018. 'Constructing Realities'. In: Constructing Realities. Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, United Kingdom 18 October 2018.
Dyer, Sonya. 2018. 'Jamboree 2018'. In: Jamboree 2018. Dartington Hall, Totnes, United Kingdom 28 June - 1 July 2018.
Dyer, Sonya. 2017. 'Bluecoat 300: Charity, Philanthropy and the Black Atlantic'. In: Bluecoat 300: Charity, Philanthropy and the Black Atlantic. International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, United Kingdom 24 - 25 November 2017.
Dyer, Sonya. 2015. 'At the Intersections'. In: At the Intersections. Nottingham Contemporary, United Kingdom 10 June 2015.
Article
Dyer, Sonya. 2018. The Many Masks of Michael Jackson: What Does Iconography of the King of Pop Mean in 2018? Frieze, ISSN 0962-0672
Dyer, Sonya. 2018. Claudette Johnson (Review). Frieze(193), p. 181. ISSN 0962-0672
Dyer, Sonya. 2017. Claudia Rankine’s The White Card: Life-affirming Response to ‘Black Death Spectacle’. a-n online,
Dyer, Sonya. 2017. Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (Review). Contemporary &,
Dyer, Sonya. 2017. Westworld (Review). SFRA Review(319), pp. 25-26. ISSN 1068-395X
Dyer, Sonya. 2016. Cindi Mayweather’s Revolutionary Pursuit of Joy. SFRA Review(318), pp. 31-33. ISSN 1068-395X
Book Section
Dyer, Sonya. 2020. The Think Tank: Institution as Performance. In: Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca and Alice Lagaay, eds. The Routledge Companion to Performance Philosophy. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 272-279. ISBN 9781138495623
Project
Dyer, Sonya and Grubbe, Jeffrey. 2022 Kings X Somerset House Studios, Collaborative Research Fund.
Thesis
Dyer, Sonya. 2021. Towards Dark Fecundity - Reimagining Black futures through visual arts practice, science fiction and Greek mythology. Doctoral thesis, Middlesex University
Other
Dyer, Sonya. 2021. Cover Image, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Vol 50.2, Number 139 (Decolonising Science Fiction). Science Fiction Foundation.
