Brent Arts Resource and Eva Maria Sanchez, the curator, presents "Individual Universes" at the Gallery at Willesden Green. A group show exploring the possibilities we have considering the number of contexts in which we are able to place things. These artists do not categorise but look at their subject to see where they reside out of context in unity and isolation. Multiple and individual universes will emerge from this approach. Artists in the exhibition are
Justin Young, Wen Wu, Helena Lyon, Roz Golds, Sachin Kaeley, and Maria Torano.
Justin Young, a musician as well as an artist, his practice explores the various ways that sound and music informs the moods and awareness of the individual. His explorations range from how sound can dictate a narrative onto unrelated imagery, to the more science fiction aspect of sound oscillations allowing objects to pass through walls and the stealing of another's identity. Any object has the capacity to make noise and thus have character. He utilises media that relates to this multi-faceted subject, ranging from sculpture to painting, in order to visualize as best as possible these concerns.
Wen Wu An insistent aesthete, her work incorporates a novel mixture of classical Chinese culture and the popular global culture we are immersed in. This work consists of a recent series of paintings and exemplifies the variation of techniques to probe issues relating to beauty. In the series she refers to as "Victorian Nude Ladies" Wu fantasizes about old time beauties; when woman were more defined in their roles and were stereotypical/real women. Using images from old time photography as source material they conjure a slightly surreal and quirky beautiful mood.
Robin Footitt displays admiration for the 'realistic' qualities of movie effects invented on computer screens; questioning the stories being told in the modern blockbuster. Were they an aide or an obstacle to developing the narrative? Was the purpose to enjoy impossible destruction; creating a sport of disaster? Using a mixture of props and designs he is currently working in various media to create a collection which celebrates and critiques the enjoyment of competition in visual innovation. A solo exhibition of his work "Stand Apart" can be seen at Nancy Victor Gallery, Charlotte Street until 28th September.
Helena Lyons Her work is concerned with themes of authority, control and identity in the self and its physiological permutations. If the body is to function as a barometer tracking the health and the sickness of any political society, her aim is to reflect this theory with characters that she invents. She has looked at the human form as an assemblage of mechanical components either embraced or at odds with their operator. This series of drawings depict characters that are never entirely free to choose the way they live but are driven along by their bodily needs, by fear, hunger and sex.
Roz Golds delves into the exploration and distortion of beauty of the civilized man returned to nature. She works with glamorous imagery of women integrated with anatomical sketches, scientific diagrams and combines the clinical with the sentimental and sensuous. She believes organic, wild and perverse beauty is obtained with the method she uses of collage and paint to run and spill. She draws her influences from the freak shows and Victorian times, new world exploration, images of botany and the cabinets of natural curiosities collected by Henry Welcome.
Sachin Kaeley - "The possibilities for realizing an incorporeal truth are endless when considering the number of contexts in which we are able to place things. Coupled with a Cartesian doubt, you begin to pick up on the holes that break cohesion. Careful navigation can lead you to mundane, all the way across to fantastical conclusions irreverent of plausibility. They are conclusions nevertheless."(Larry Gaetjens, 2004)
Maria Torano's work fluctuates between dreams and reality as well as past and future. She sometimes uses recycled material giving them the possibility of a new form, place and space. The influence of scientific advancement shapes an important part of her concerns. Torano sees the ambiguity of daily life which can become paradise or turn into a nightmare depending on the point of view. She invites people to visit that parallel world and draw their own conclusions.
The Gallery at Willesden Green was re-launched in December 2005, and we intend to turn it into a vibrant community space where new ideas will be incubated and encouraged, where unknown and talented artists will find a place to display and perform, and where art becomes accessible to everyone in the community.
For more information about Brent Arts Resource go to: www.brentartistsresource.org.uk.
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