Shezad Dawood- Piercing Brightness

About

Modern Art Oxford presents a major solo exhibition of British artist Shezad Dawood. Through new film, installation and textile-based ‘paintings', Dawood presents multi-layered narratives which call into question our attempts to reconcile the passing of time and the creation of identity in our own lives. These works draw on influences as diverse as cosmology, science fiction and Sufism and re-imagine moments across time frames, cultures and histories. Presented in a purpose-built viewing space in the Upper Gallery, Trailer is a 15-minute, alternative edit from the artist's feature-length film Piercing Brightness, which uses science fiction as a prism through which to reflect on race and migration. New Dream Machine Project is a large-scale kinetic light sculpture and Super 18 mm film that references Brion Gysin's original Dream Machine — a work conceived to have an effect on the viewer similar to deep meditation or dream sleep. New Dream Machine Project acknowledges Gysin's influences from Moroccan culture in the 1960s and re-imagines this iconic work for a contemporary audience. We also present a selection of the Dawood's textile- based paintings. Using Saami textiles as a starting point, these works forms part of the research behind the artist's films and illustrates his investigation into form, meaning and context. The exhibition extends to The Yard with Rendezvous with Rama, an enigmatic constellation of neon light sculpture.