6/11/2002
Dan Holdsworth
Entwistle, London
Black Mountains is a new large-scale photographic triptych by Dan Holdsworth. Taken at the edge of a glacier (Vatnajokull, Iceland 2001), these stark and powerful photographs continue the series from Iceland, The World in Itself, begun in 2000.
"The world is neither significant nor absurd. It is quite simply. That,
in any case, is the most remarkable thing about it." Alain Robbe-Grillet
Black Mountains is a new large-scale photographic triptych by Dan
Holdsworth. Taken at the edge of a glacier (Vatnajokull, Iceland 2001),
these stark and powerful photographs continue the series from Iceland, The
World in Itself, begun in 2000.
At first glance these images represent a static, immoveable, landscape: an
abstract surface of black and white mountains, permeated with almost
imperceptible but intense, fragments of colour. The reality beyond this
impression is a fragile, tumultuous, mass of ice and volcanic debris at
the point of collapse.
"Following the edge of the glacier I climbed up the moraine until I
reached the point where I took these photographs. I was standing in deep
volcanic sand that had the feel and instability underfoot of drifted snow.
Black and white formations of ice and volcanic debris rose in front of
me. These structures were overwhelmingly powerful to be so close to. Yet
this almost brutal landscape gave way to an absolute fragility. This
monumental formation that seemed so permanent was in fact a delicate
balance of powdered stone melted out from the ice that any strong wind or
rain would simply wash away, leaving behind only bumps and mounds where
was once a serrated edge and sharp peaks. This fragility and sense of
permanence versus impermanence made me consider the human situation and
the shift, flux and fragility of our own perception of life."
Dan Holdsworth came to international attention with a series of landscape
photographs taken at night. These beautiful images explored transitional
and boundary areas: spaces at the edge of our built environment.
Holdsworths photographs from Iceland continue this exploration of our
relationship to, and reading of liminal spaces and what we call nature.
Dan Holdsworth was born in 1974 and currently lives and works in London,
UK. Solo Exhibitions Dan Holdsworth, Chelsea Kunstraum, Cologne, Germany,
2002; The World in Itself, Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK; Dan
Holdsworth, Kohji Ogura Gallery, Nagoya, Japan, both 2001; Dan Holdsworth,
Entwistle, London, 2001; Selected Group Exhibitions Horizon, Arts Agents
Gallery, Hamburg, Germany; UK/NY, Asprey Garrard Gallery, New York, USA;
Andrew Cross and Dan Holdsworth, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton;
Antarctica, Entwistle, London, UK; Neue Welt, Frankfurt Kunstverein,
Frankfurt, Germany; TRADE, Fotomuseum, Winterthur, Switzerland;
Department, Changing Rooms, Stirling, Scotland; Becks Futures 2, ICA,
London, UK; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland; Bluecoat Gallery,
Liverpool, UK; Sothebys, New York, USA, all 2001. Photospin,
Photographers Gallery, London, UK; What We Call Progress (curated by
Anthony Iles and Michael Craig Martin), Watershed Gallery, Bristol;
Gasworks, London, UK, 2000; Department (curated by Ben Harmen and Kirsten
MacDonald), Victoria Plaza, Southend, UK; Dub Housing (curated by Jason
Evans for Camera Austria), Steirischer Herbst 99, Graz, Austria; Path
(curated by Darren Flook and Dan Holdsworth), Chisenhale Gallery, London,
UK.
Preview: 7 November 6 8pm 2002
In the image: 'black mountains'.
Tuesday to Saturday 10.00-17.30
Entwistle
6 Cork St, London W1S 3EE
T +44 (0)20 7734 6440