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SHARON HAWARD
UNDONE
16/10/21 - 13/11/21
Press Release
For Undone Haward has created a mise en scene where a flurry of thoughts and ideas are made visible, strung together to make a scene. Objects become props on the verge of becoming, they are pressed into a temporary shape by a distracted narrator, perhaps never to be repeated.
The exhibition hints at the progressiveness of the past, the complacency of the present, and where the hell we might be headed. Objects hang and flop, fold and buckle, constrained by grids; they hint at places and people, characters and dreams. The ghosts of Mies van der Rohe and Dr Farnsworth hang around in the corners of the gallery – bickering about a house that is 'almost nothing' with nowhere to hide the rubbish. Modernist rationalism sags a bit, it's transparency tarnished by time and misogyny. Objects are assembled to imply a life on the edge of homelessness, a temporary site of residence where the water is tainted and the winds are laden with tears.
Haward's installations and interventions are informed by a range of sources including Pallasmaa's critiques on contemporary architecture and it's indifference to a human experience of space and the built environment. There is also evidence of a phenomenological approach whereby materials and sensory experiences are highlighted and recent interests include research into the contributions women have made to the evolution of modernism. Working in new and unknown places provides Haward with the stimulus for new discoveries and ways of thinking about the relationship between the artist, location and broader narratives. Haward's projects often include a site-specific element and depend on a multi-disciplinary approach.
Working with artists and curators from Europe and UK Haward has produced installations and exhibitions in abandoned, empty and public spaces in UK, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Norway and Bulgaria, including a chateau, an electrical substation, a Victorian fort, a fire station and a railway station. Projects and collaborations created over the last ten years include those created for established galleries such as De La Warr Pavilion,Bexhill; Sluice HQ, London; Hartslane, London; Towner, Eastbourne, Espace 36, St Omer; Phoenix Gallery, Brighton; Sassoon Gallery, Folkestone and a range of artist-run space