Programme
DRINK THE LIQUID, EAT THE SOLID
Violence, health anxieties and gender stereotypes are treated with humour in this earnest and uneasy inquiry into what it’s like to live as a weakling. Ormston House is proud to present Anita Delaney’s first solo exhibition in Ireland of five performative videos probing the aesthetics of the pathetic. Severed limbs, smouldering cigarettes and oozing liquids are spliced together in sophisticated sequences of dark and dirty clips. Each character, object and component is carefully considered to create a balance between the comical and the abject.
Sound is key to the tone of the moving images: from tongue clicks to hectic thumps, throat gurgles to scripted dialogue. Curious novelty items and second-hand things take on new-found importance, retrieved from the obscurity of charity shops or other sources. The various aspects of production design (wardrobe, hair, make-up, location, props) are fragments assembled and pieced together similarly to the process of commercial film-making. Delaney precisely constructs each scene, selects and combine the footage, and builds layered treatments of disquieting yet funny compositions.
About the artist:
Anita Delaney completed a BA in Animation in 2005 and a BA in Fine Art 2006, both IADT, Dún Laoghaire. In 2011, she completed her MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London and since then has exhibited extensively including Must Go On, Rua Red, Dublin (2014); Ceri Hand Summer Fête, Ceri Hand Gallery, London (2013); Norwich Outpost Open Film selected by Adam Pugh and Jesse Ash, Norwich (2013); RHA Futures, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin (2013); Bloomberg New Contemporaries at the Liverpool Biennial and the ICA, London (2012); AND, FACT Liverpool (2012); Studio Voltaire members show curated by Jenni Lomax and Mike Nelson, London (2012). Forthcoming shows in 2014 include DRINK THE LIQUID, EAT THE SOLID, Ormston House, Limerick, and Handjob, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh.
On Friday 7 November, Anita will discuss her work with Adam Pugh at Ormston House. To book a place: info@ormstonhouse.com.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
