02 Nov 2012

Same Husband by Nicole Morris at Space In Between

Space In Between is delighted to present Same Husband, a solo show of new work by Nicole Morris, and her first with the gallery.

Morris' practice is concerned with how spaces are navigated, with 'image' space and with the construction of an image, which are each investigated by creating environments that seek to blur the boundary between filmic space and actual space. In these settings the viewer - as a mobile, visual and sensual agent - activates the work by moving through it.

For Same Husband Morris has divided the gallery space into two parts – constructing a liminal space that consists of both an 'on' and 'off stage' environment. The composition of the elements within these spaces, aims to disrupt any distinction between object and encounter, viewer and viewed, obscuring the clarity between which space is which.

Your Love Will Fade, a hypnotic video work playing on a loop, draws upon notions of performance and theatricality, on an exploration of the body, of sexuality, sexiness and on an uncomfortable relationship between performer and voyeur. Featuring close ups of an unfamiliar female figure, Your Love Will Fade manipulates, disrupts and substitutes 'form', considering the body both as flesh and as image. A pairing of sound with silence in the film acts as a means to present different layers of access, extending the notion of framing to the space the viewer is in. The performer in the film is both a breathing, visceral body and a sculpture, which Morris uses to investigate notions of physicality and texture, colour, weight and scale.

Through the exhibition Morris' use of construction is key – her constructing of both a series of actions, of a performance, the layering of film – to create a whole and controlled environment. Moving through Same Husband the viewer begins to make both aesthetic and thematic connections as objects appearing in real space are explored within the constructed space of the film. Objects and architectural features become obstacles and navigational tools for each individual's journey, seeking to confuse and illuminate the liquidity between on and off stage / in and out of frame.

The title, Same Husband alludes to a distant figure or object, both intimate and formal, present and absent.