Words Made of Atoms

Wood, J and Harrison, P (2020) Words Made of Atoms. Von Bartha Gallery, Basel, Switzerland, 19 December 2020 – 27 February 2021.

Item Type: Exhibition
Creators: Wood, J and Harrison, P
Abstract: This solo exhibition by British artist duo John Wood & Paul Harrison is an exploration of language and its manifold interpretations, including over 40 new and recent text-based works across the media of video, painting, drawing, audio, print and installation. Running concurrently with the gallery show, a series of external artworks by the artists will be installed in the nearby village of Zuoz. Playing with words and their meaning, the exhibition will feature a series of recent drawings and new paintings of words, about words, such as This Is A Painting In A Room (2020). The show will feature Demo Tape (2020), a new video work in which two men perform a strange demonstration using a series of placards; a silent film about saying something. 'Words Made of Atoms' will also feature John Wood & Paul Harrison's first vinyl record, This is a Circle (2020), featuring spoken word lyrics by Lloyd Cole. Additionally, a series of twelve works will be installed outside the gallery, in the nearby village of Zuoz. These text-based works will continue the artists' investigation into language, appearing as a series of signs that direct nowhere, advertise nothing and generally provide very little information.
Official URL: https://www.vonbartha.com/exhibitions/john-wood-pa...
Date: December 2020
Event Location: Von Bartha Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Number of Pieces: 40
Medium: Painting, Video, Record, Drawing, Print
Measurements/Duration: Various
Note:

The works in 'Words Made of Atoms' form part of John Wood & Paul Harrison's longstanding mission to 'compile an encyclopedia of the largely useless', which began when the duo first met in art school in the early 1990s. The artists are known for their video work which straddles the lines between tragedy, comedy and irony. These works, which are minimalist, sculptural and have elements of installation and performance, oscillate between failure, calculation and randomness. They often experiment with size, volume and movement of the human body in relation to the surrounding architecture, which the two artists have usually built themselves.

John Wood & Paul Harrison have been investigating written and spoken language in the development of their artwork since 1993. This key element of their practice has remained largely hidden in the working process, until recent years when the artists started to directly and visibly incorporate text into the works themselves. 'Words Made of Atoms' is the first exhibition by the duo that focuses solely on this element of their practice.

Divisions: Bath School of Art, Film and Media
Research Centres and Groups: Art Research Centre
Date Deposited: 18 Dec 2020 17:50
Last Modified: 16 May 2022 12:26
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