Lisson Gallery is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition of work by Graham
Gussin opening November 12th.
Graham Gussin’s new work deals with notions of the uncanny and the sublime, a
recurring theme in much of his practice. Gussin uses film as material and
reference and is interested in how filmic images and ideas spill out into reality
and occupy space in our subconscious. He takes images that we know to be
sinister in origin and inverts them by placing them in contrasting situations or
environments. In Dark Light Piece (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Mobile), 2003 he
constructs a simple mobile, but instead of primary colours and shapes, he uses
stills from the seminal horror classic. Rather than the violence we might
associate with that genre, he conversely selects incidental, rather anonymous
shots from the film, which would in fact be desolately beautiful if the viewer
were unaware of their source. The mobile itself becomes a literal play on
suspension, floating above us like a cloud, its dark subject matter in stark contrast
to its decorative form.
Spiral, 2003 is a continuous icy white neon spiral of words running one into the
other that interrogates the notion of perceived ‘conditions’ and psychological
states. ‘Unknown’; ‘vague’; ‘unsure’ are adjectives which trigger atavistic and
familiar emotional responses and yet are also terms of disregard; they imply a
state of non-existence.
Read moreDoppelganger, 2003 investigates ideas of repetition and circularity whereby the
artist attempts to see through the eyes of someone else. Using a rotating slide
projection Gussin documents a trip he made through Iceland in 2000.
Subsequently, in 2001 he advertised for a volunteer or ‘doppelganger’ to
replicate his Icelandic journey exactly —the same flight on the same date, same
hotel, same room. A mobile phone number was supplied as the only point of
contact for the anonymous volunteer to arrange to collect tickets, itinerary,
addresses and other necessary information. While Gussin was in London, his
doppelganger was to experience, as closely as possible, events that had taken
place a year before. The viewer too is intrinsic to the work and inevitably
becomes the doppelganger as he or she follows the logic of the work. Again this
embodies themes of the visible and invisible, becoming a complex visual trap.
Graham Gussin lives and works in London. He has exhibited internationally and
recent exhibitions include: ‘Terrain Vague’, Henry Moore Foundation
Contemporary Projects, 50th Venice Biennale 2003; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
2002; New Media Space, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, 2001;
Kunsthalle Aarhus, Denmark, 1999; Camden Arts Centre, London 1997; and
Chisenhale, London, 1993. Group exhibitions include ‘En Route’, Serpentine
Gallery, London, 2002; ‘Intelligence’, Tate Britain, 2000; Media City Seoul, Korea,
2000; British Art Show 5, National Touring Exhibition organised by the Hayward
Gallery, toured to Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff and Birmingham; Melbourne
Biennal, 1999; ‘Material Culture’, Hayward Gallery 1997; Institute of Cultural
Anxiety, ICA, London, 1994.
