Freedom From Selection

About

Freedom From Selection is an exhibition exploring human biology - clinical psychiatry, the make-up of the nervous system, genetics and health; each translated into absorbing works in varying media - sometimes shocking, sometimes humourous - forming an artistic investigation into these areas from a group of five contemporary artists. How does an individual act of ‘making' relate to the extensive research and trial and error that lead scientists to uncover new and often radical theories, cures and discoveries? The relationship between art and science has been an ongoing experimental search for answers. From the detailed works of Leonardo da Vinci to the groundbreaking exhibition ‘Body Worlds' by Dr Gunther von Hagens, artists and scientists have forayed into the unknown to develop new understandings and stimulate their prospective audiences. Freedom From Selection is a new take on this evolving relationship and the way in which a group of artists respond to human biology in their own personal and thought-provoking ways. Highlights of the exhibition include Sue Nicholson's Ganglion navigating the human body's central nervous system. Created using intricate light installations, the work explores the artist's fascination with the body's different signals, control, emotions and reactions. As a chronic migraine sufferer, Sue's work becomes a personal interpretation of a condition that affects her body, speech and creativity. Helen McGhie brings a disgusting yet humourous element to the exhibition as she uses moving image to explore ideas surrounding feminine identity, body modification and beauty disorders. Serving Suggestions is an ironic project that combines existing visual codes involved within contemporary cookery programming as a platform for examining the current identity construction of the stereotypically ‘ideal' Western female. Hannah Ainsworth uses repetitive actions that touch upon the notion of endurance and the lasting memory of an intimate action. The finished pieces are a catalogue of her movement, with translucent traces of fingerprints. Conceptually in-tune with phenomenology and embodiment, the viewer becomes aware of their body when viewing the work. Work from these and the other 2 artists makes up Freedom From Selection, the second exhibition to take place at Blank Media Collective's new hub, BLANKSPACE. For further information about Freedom From Selection and these thought-provoking works please visit http://www.blankmediacollective.org/freedomfromselection