Removed from the Eyes of Strangers, Copenhagen, Denmark
21st November - 12th December 2009
Removed from the Eyes of Strangers brings the work of five emerging British artists to Co-Lab., an independent platform for international contemporary art located in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is the second leg of the touring exhibition, following a successful opening at Galleri Andersson/Sandström in Umeå, northern Sweden, before the exhibition returns to Vyner Street in London.
The participating artists have been selected by Matt Roberts Arts in response to an ongoing interest in the work of Sigmund Freud, and have used their research into Freud’s essay ‘Das Unheimlich’ to inspire a new body of work for this international touring exhibition. Freud used the term ‘unheimlich’ to explain the phenomenon that occurs when ideas and feelings from childhood which have been repressed are suddenly re-awakened, and the familiar becomes ‘unheimlich’ or uncanny. The artists in Removed from the Eyes of Strangers subtly alter domestic objects to reveal how we can still be terrorised by the slightest shift in our perceptions.
Rachel Goodyear’s soft hand-drawn visions of figures, inanimate objects and violent images of animals create an unfamiliar landscape forcing the viewer to readdress their own experience of suburban life. Matt Lippiatt’s video 'Nightcruising' (2009) is a collaboration with pornographer Liam Cole. Matt has re-edited video clips from a porn scene shot at night in London's Hampstead Heath, manipulating the sound and speed of the footage to foreground the ominous character of the nocturnal woodland setting and the ambiguous activities taking place.
Wendy Mayer’s work centres around the evolution of the self. Exploring perceptions of the ageing process to embrace her interest in the uncanny, she utilises dolls and figurines to project images of herself that represents various stages of her evolving psyche. Pete Smith’s human forms mechanically mimic the shadowy patterns of everyday rituals grown from memories of his childhood and his experience of working in menial roles or on factory floors. Clara Ursitti continues her work on the 'Dolphin Girl' collection, a project that questions what it means to be a human animal, and how our senses figure in this. Combining visual and non-visual senses, she creates meaning and experience for those encountering a work of art.
Removed from the Eyes of Strangers: Nightcruising' screening
5th November 2009
As a preview of the Removed from the Eyes of Strangers exhibition due to open at MRA Project Space in January 2010, Matt Roberts Arts will be screening 'Nightcruising' (2009), a video by Matt Lippiatt. Continuing with the theme of Freud's Uncanny, 'Nightcruising' (2009) is a collaboration between artist Matt Lippiatt and pornographer Liam Cole. Matt has re-edited video clips from a porn scene shot at night in London's Hampstead Heath, manipulating the sound and speed of the footage to foreground the ominous character of the nocturnal woodland setting and the ambiguous activities taking place. The participating artists have been selected by Matt Roberts Arts in response to an ongoing interest in the work of Sigmund Freud, and have used their research into Freud’s essay ‘Das Unheimlich’ to inspire a new body of work for this international touring exhibition. Freud used the term ‘unheimlich’ to explain the phenomenon that occurs when ideas and feelings from childhood which have been repressed are suddenly re-awakened, and the familiar becomes ‘unheimlich’ or uncanny. The artists in Removed from the Eyes of Strangers subtly alter domestic objects to reveal how we can still be terrorised by the slightest shift in our perceptions.
Rachel Goodyear’s soft hand-drawn visions of figures, inanimate objects and violent images of animals create an unfamiliar landscape forcing the viewer to readdress their own experience of suburban life. Matt Lippiatt’s video 'Nightcruising' (2009) is a collaboration with pornographer Liam Cole. Matt has re-edited video clips from a porn scene shot at night in London's Hampstead Heath, manipulating the sound and speed of the footage to foreground the ominous character of the nocturnal woodland setting and the ambiguous activities taking place.
Wendy Mayer’s work centres around the evolution of the self. Exploring perceptions of the ageing process to embrace her interest in the uncanny, she utilises dolls and figurines to project images of herself that represents various stages of her evolving psyche. Pete Smith’s human forms mechanically mimic the shadowy patterns of everyday rituals grown from memories of his childhood and his experience of working in menial roles or on factory floors. Clara Ursitti continues her work on the 'Dolphin Girl' collection, a project that questions what it means to be a human animal, and how our senses figure in this. Combining visual and non-visual senses, she creates meaning and experience for those encountering a work of art.
Removed from the Eyes of Strangers (Sweden)
8th - 30th October 2009
Removed From the Eyes of Strangers, brings together the work of six emerging artists to Galleri Andersson/Sandström, an internationally acclaimed gallery in the woodland area of Umeå, Northern Sweden. Hidden behind trees and undergrowth, the gallery is the renovated boiler room of a former sanitorium, offering an ideal setting for the theme of the exhibition. The participating artists have been selected by Matt Roberts Arts in response to an ongoing interest in the work of Sigmund Freud and will be using their research of Freud’s essay ‘Das Unheimlich’ to inspire a new body of work for this exhibition. Freud used the term ‘unheimlich’ to explain the phenomenon that occurs when ideas and feelings from childhood which have been repressed are suddenly re-awakened, and the familiar becomes ‘unheimlich’ or uncanny. The artists in ‘Removed From the Eyes of Strangers’ will create new bodies of work which utilise the unique psycho-geography of the area to reveal how we can still be terrorised by the slightest shift in our perceptions.
Matt Lippiatt’s site sensitive installation will directly link the memory of the location with the uncanny and notions of artists as social outsiders, showing that the connection between genius and insanity is blurred. Rachel Goodyear’s soft hand drawn visions of figures, burnt gateposts, abandoned clothing and violent images of wild birds and animals create an unfamiliar landscape forcing the viewer to readdress their own experience of suburban life. Clara Ursitti is interested in questions surrounding what it means to be a human animal, and how our senses figure in this. Combining visual and non-visual senses, she creates meaning and experience for those encountering a work of art. Steve Bishop is concerned with the tensions between the natural world and the man made. With foxes impaled on neon lights and squirrels submerged in concrete blocks, he creates a collision between the wild and the mundane materials of everyday life. Pete Smith’s human forms mechanically mimic the shadowy patterns of everyday rituals grown from memories of his childhood and his experience of working in menial roles or on factory floors. Wendy Mayer’s work centres around the evolution of the self. Exploring perceptions of the ageing process to embrace her interest in the uncanny, she utilises dolls and figurines to project images of herself that represents various stages of her evolving psyche.
Salon Art Prize 09
4th - 19th September 2009
Salon09 features 58 artists handpicked by a panel of prominent art experts and exhibited at MRA Project Space on Vyner Street, East London. The Salon09 judging panel included Gordon MacDonald (Head of Publications at Photoworks, Brighton, and Editor of Photoworks magazine), Ceri Hand (Director of Ceri Hand Gallery) and Margot Heller (Director of the South London Gallery). The work selected ranged from painting, printmaking, photography, collage and drawing to sculpture and installation. The inaugural Salon09 Selectors' Prize was awarded to Neil Hedger and the John Jones Award for Contemporary Painting was awarded to Tim Bailey.
Selected Artists: Henny Acloque, Iain Andrews,Tim Bailey, Aglae Bassens, Fiona Cassidy, Louisa Chambers, Noa Charuvi, Charlie Coffey, Lucy Conochie, Lourival Cuquinha, Ben Deakin, Dolores DeSade, Robin Dixon, Aidan Doherty, Freya Douglas-Morris, Tamara Dubnyckyj, Marko Dutka, Alice Evans, Alice Finbow, Andrew Griffiths, Dominic Hawgood, Neil Hedger, Liz Hingley, Atsuhide Ito, Monica, Ursina Jager, Lauren Kelly, Ilona Kiss, Hua Kuan Sai, Anna Larkin, Alanna Lawley, Alastair Levy, Hayley Lock, Fiona MacDonald, Garry Martin, John Mclaren, Susie MacMurray, Georgina McNamara, Aidan McNeill, Paul Merrick, Arnaud Moinet, Eleanor Moreton, Kala Newman, Ellen Nolan, Thomas Owen, Claire Palfreyman, Erik Parra, Oiko Petersen, Regine Petersen, Barbora Rybarova, Michelle Sank, Anja Schaffner, Anthony Schrag, Guy Shoham, Georgina Sleap, Carole Suety, James Tye, Laura Zilionyte
Unheimlich
30th January - 14th February 2009
Unheimlich brings together the work of five artists whose practice reflects an interest in Freud’s notion of the ‘uncanny’. Freud used this term to explain the phenomenon that occurs when ideas and feelings from childhood, which have become repressed in the adult, are suddenly re-awakened, and the familiar becomes ‘unheimlich’ or unhomely. The artists in this exhibition have created new bodies of work that reveal how we can still be terrorised by the slightest shift in our perceptions.
In Matt Lippiatt’s installations the creative products of a family household, such as personalised birthday cake decorations and teenage fan doodles are juxtaposed with allusions to destructive behavioral patterns. The notion of artists as social outsiders, and the connection between genius and insanity is blurred. Lippiatt is a graduate of Central St. Martins, and now works as a freelance writer. The effect of sensory perception in defining our mental landscape is central to the work of Clara Ursitti. As the Arts Council England Helen Chadwick Fellow in 2007 Ursitti worked with the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford exploring how a combination of visual and non-visual senses creates meaning and experience for those encountering a work of art. Rachel Goodyear’s body of work captures glimpses of everyday life seen through an arresting and unfamiliar lens. Burnt gateposts, abandoned clothing and violent images of wild birds and animals, force the viewer to readdress their own experience of suburban life. Goodyear’s drawings have recently been exhibited as part of ‘Made Up’ Tate Liverpool, and she is looking forward to two solo shows at the International 3, and Pippy Houldworth this year. Steve Bishop is concerned with the tensions between the natural world and the man made. With foxes impaled on neon lights and squirrels submerged in concrete blocks he creates a collision between the wild and the mundane materials of everyday life. Bishop is represented by Pianissimo, Milan, and will be included in Newspeak: ‘British Art Now’ at the Saatchi gallery. Pete Smith’s complex animated installations grow organically from memories of his childhood and his experience of working in menial roles or on factory floors. Recalling the work of Robert Gober, Jean Tinguely and Gregor Schneider, Smith’s private mental space is abstractly transformed, and disembodied memories are reincarnated into mechanical limbs and endlessly performing automata.