Independent curator and writer Maria Hinel (Borshchevska) is interested in perceptions of time in contemporary art. For Timescapes she has selected works by artists who look at concepts of time beyond that of a continuous line that links past and future.
Highlights include a recent video by Hiraki Sawa who is best known for his poetic and subtle animations investigating the correlation between memory and time. With Wall he recalls a surreal dream of domestic objects with human legs walking around ordinary interiors before growing wings and escaping their mundane routines.
At last year’s Strange Clay exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, Shahpour Pouyan presented a collection of ceramic domes that explored ancestry through architecture. With Chunk of Water he traces the line to the primordial ocean as the ultimate source of all life.
Min Woo Nam’s contemplations of nocturnal skies made for one of the most memorable presentations at this summer’s RCA painting degree shows. Creating each composition from memory and in one continuous sitting, Nam embodies the connection between time and landscape.
Solveig Settemsdal and Paul Barlow in distinct ways manipulate material in search of the origin of an object’s identity as it moves through time. Settemsdal slows down the transformation of fluid form while Barlow creates symmetrical shapes with liquid pigment. Both mimic patterns and movements in nature, neither can control the outcome.
Tom Hardwick-Allan depicts the past, present and future as a triptych of intricate circular carvings. Rebecca Halliwell Sutton uses photography to re-enact ancient rituals and record the direct reaction between time and light. With her Post–Petrochemical Paintings Yelena Popova reflects on historical and future repercussions of human activity on Earth. All contribute to a wider conversation about life guided by the sun and the moon as opposed to clock-time.
Timescapes, 10th October – 18th November, Shtager&Shch Lower Ground Floor, 51-53 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SQ
Wednesday-Friday 11am-6pm; Saturday 11am-5pm evening reception on Tuesday 10th
Curator: Maria Hines (Borshchevska)
Exhibiting artists: Hiraki Sawa, Min Woo Nam, Paul Barlow , Rebecca Kay Halliwell Sutton, Shahpour Pouyan , Solveig Settemsdal, Tom Hardwick-Allan and Yelena Popova
