Past exhibition
Abandon Normal Devices
23 September - 4 October 09
SUNDAY by Duane Hopkins
As part of AND festival of new cinema and digital culture, Open Eye Gallery is proud to present an exhibition by artist, photographer and award-winning filmmaker Duane Hopkins.
Duane Hopkins has received widespread critical acclaim for his distinctive portrayals of British rural life, notably with his short films and debut feature film Better Things. SUNDAY is a provocative multi-screen audio/visual exhibition that reworks traditional cinematic vernacular to consider the nuances and subtleties in the relationship between identity, psychology and environment.
The format of each individual work within SUNDAY is that of multiple images knitted together to form visceral moving image portraits. Some pieces combine three images horizontally, creating a single extreme-widescreen image that is at once epic and intimate. Influenced by classical painting and exploring the connections between the individual and the natural world, these atmospheric films are not narrative-driven but rather build up in layers, creating an immersive experience with an unnerving psychological intensity. This is presented against the backdrop of an immutable and yet beautiful landscape where time seems to extend forever. The work creates a sense of location both familiar and eerie: a place where serenity and anxiety are equally present. The shifting interactions of the various screen elements work suggestively towards a complex meditation between the characters' personal inner reality and their external world.
