Ayaz's Palace

About

22 February-16th March 2008

Ayaz said to the deputies O Renowned Officers
Is the 'Order of the King' more worthy or the 'Diamond'

Marianna and Daniel O'Reilly's first collaborative installation exploits a devotional theory of drawing in order to create an environment-allegory for the process of 'inspiration' which lies at the heart of all popular mythologies of 'the artist'; a mythology which rings true more often than not in the artistic consciousness itself. The project marries together concepts rooted in medieval thought which are seen as indispensable to contemporary notions of art production; accounts such as the art of the alchemist as Sufi metaphor, the popular accounts made of the workshops of Tintoretto and Fiorentino etc, and the monastic workshops of the icon painters. A necessary umbrella concept that ties these accounts together is the prevalent theory of Melancholy from this period and, as such, the installation is tinged with 'tone'; a tone which sets a model for the edifice as a whole and which reads as a metaphor in the working relationship between Marianna and Daniel inasmuch as it records a dialectical process of individual aims that are subordinated for the elevation of the work as a whole.

The process of drawing stands as a common ground which exists between the individual practises of the two artists involved and thus serves as a liberating neutral point from which they are able to explore the shared interests which lie at the centre of both practises. In that drawing traditionally holds the position of preparation or study for a finished work, it is reconfigured here as a preparation with no desire for an end point; one in which the creative essence, (the relationship,) remains vital and which never achieves a fully realised, 'finished' state. Incorporated into the installation is the short film 'The School of Night' which has been specially created for this project. It comprises a series of images taken from paintings by Marianna coupled to a soundtrack by Daniel with the aim of spawning renewed energies from existent sources by means of cinematic devices such as counterpoint and the unexpected meeting. The artists have also created a pictorial diary entitled 'The Carouser's Notebook' as an accompaniment to the exhibition which is available in a signed edition from the gallery.

Shed-and-a-Half Gallery is a shed and a half on a roof in Shoreditch. It is a non-commercial, artist-run alternative art space in the centre of London's eclectic East End art scene.

For more information regarding the gallery or to arrange a viewing appointment, please contact Vita Gottlieb on 020 76132479 or info@shedandahalfgallery.com

For more information regarding the artists please visit www.mariannaanddaniel.co.uk or e-mail to either daniel_o_reilly@hotmail.com or marianna_red@hotmail.com