28 Jan 2010

Horsecross presents Susana Mendes Silva at Threshold artspace, Perth

'The restless, ingenious Susana Mendes Silva has worked across many media, settling on none. She has made disturbing fused objects (a golden tampon in the shape of a bullet, a bar of soap implanted with a razorblade); she has done a witty and anxious private performance-on-demand; and she has taken disembodied photographs of her feet, as if both of these body parts somehow have minds and lives of their own. These images are characteristically cute and also rather lonely: the body is a delightful and perplexing encumbrance, a whole other country that never appears whole.' James Westcott

A versatile artist, Susana Mendes Silva, moves with ease and expertise through different subject areas often responding to the spaces she is exhibiting in, as well as to the people associated with these places. For her solo exhibition at Threshold artspace in Perth – her first in the UK and the second in a five-part ten month series of commisions, exhibitions and events Portuguese Waves – Mendes Silva presents five selected works from the last six years in which language, voiceover and text are central. There are works such as You Look Lovely Today (2009-10) that literally speak to us direct, and others that entangle us in the intricacies of writing both as drawing and video making including Ritual #2 (2006-10). At first sight these works might transpire as formally minimalist, but after some contemplation they become profoundly disconcerting and unsettling. All new commissions and acquisitions are showing at the different 'project rooms' of the artspace including the Welcome, Wave, Stage and Flush areas, as well as the artspace dedicated YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/Thresholdartspace

Susana Mendes Silva (born Lisbon, 1972, lives and works in London and Lisbon) has created a varied body of work since the mid 1990s, making use of photography, video, installation, drawing, and performance. She has worked from a specifically female consciousness and sensibility, building a style that is fragmented and anti-linear, one that exudes poetic irony and finesse, balancing itself on the fine line of indifference and invisibility, intimacy and aggression. She studied Sculpture in FBAUL, Lisbon and is currently a MPhil/PhD candidate in Fine Art (Studio Based Research) at Goldsmiths College, London. Mendes Silva has been a Research Assistant at the University of Évora since 1999. Her latest solo and group shows include X at Marz Galeria, Lisbon; Beyond Time at National Museum Soares dos Reis, Porto and One Hundred Drawings at Viarco Express, Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, Lisbon. Her exhibition at Threshold artspace, Perth is her first solo presentation in the UK. Further details about her practice are available here www.susanamendessilva.com

FREE EVENTS AND RESOURCES
Exhibition Guide | free and downloadable from here www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-current/
Artist's Talk | off-site at edinburgh college of art | Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF | date to be confirmed
Curator's Guided Tours | By prior arrangement through e-mailing inedkova@horsecross.co.uk
Read More | Horsecross journal for critical writing | Forthcoming issue on Susana Mendes Silva with a newly commissioned essay by Neil Mullholland

Susana Mendes Silva – the second in a five-part ten month series of commisions, exhibitions, acquisitions and events Portuguese Waves. Co-curated by Iliyana Nedkova and Filipa Oliveira. Produced by the artist, curators and Horsecross for Threshold artspace in partnership with 55degrees, Glasgow. Supported by the Calouste Gulbenkain Foundation, Instituto Camões Portugal of Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Scottish Arts Council.

Launched in September 2005, Threshold artspace is about positioning Perth and Scotland within the contemporary art world through curating, commissioning, producing, exhibiting, publishing and collecting bold contemporary art by Scottish and international artists. Pioneered and managed by Horscecross and core funded by the Scottish Arts Council and Perth and Kinross Council

Horsecross is an independent agency delivering cultural activities at Threshold artspace, Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre. Threshold artspace and Perth Concert Hall sit on the site of the original Horsecross – Perth's 17th century horse market. The name is synonymous with bustling regeneration activity in the heart of the city, which in 2010 celebrates the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion of Scotland in 1210.

Also, currently on view:
Instant Light. The Magic of Polaroid by Sheila Borthwick
The first solo exhibition of this Glasgow-born and Perth-based artist. Curated by Iliyana Nedkova
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Glenlandia by Susan Collins | Acres Wild by Marek Styczen
The first collectable limited editions produced by Horsecross with proceeds supporting the exhibition programme. Limited edition - limited availability!
Both at Threshold artspace, Perth Theatre, 185 High Street, PH1 5UW | Open Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm or late on performance evenings. Free to visit. Fun to experience.
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Online works by Antonio Olaio, Vuk Cosic, Julita Wojcik, Alec Finlay and Susan Collins
Part of Horsecross collection of contemporary art on the Threshold artspace website and dedicated artspace YouTube Channel www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace
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Read More | Horsecross journal for critical writing and in-depth analysis of contemporary art. Latest issues feature contributing writers Jonathon Blackwood, Angela Dimitrakaki, Piotr Krajewski,
November Paynter and Urszula Sniegowska. FREE to download | ISSN 1755-0866 |www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-read-more/

For further details please contact Iliyana Nedkova, Horsecross Creative Director (Contemporary Art) tel: +44 (0)1738 477743 e-mail: inedkova@horsecross.co.uk