Tessa Farmer
dal 15/6/2007 al 28/7/2007
Segnalato da
15/6/2007
Tessa Farmer
Chapter Gallery, Cardiff
Farmer's miniature winged creatures occupy what seems to be a visionary, transitory state between life and death. These microscopically detailed sculptures are created from organic, found materials and objects, including tree roots, insectile remains and road kill. Named 'hell's angels' or simply 'fairies',
Infestation
Tessa Farmer's miniature winged creatures occupy what seems to be a visionary,
transitory state between life and death. These microscopically detailed sculptures
are created from organic, found materials and objects, including tree roots,
insectile remains and road kill. Named 'hell's angels' or simply 'fairies', Farmer's
creatures weave a fantasy drawn from literature, legends and her own imagination.
Far removed from the Victorian notion of fairies as benign beings, her creatures are
by no means cute or innocent. They are predators: barbarous and violent beings who
are waging war on each other and on the animal kingdom that they inhabit.
Usually too small to view properly without a magnifying glass, the fairies demand
our closest attention. They are equipped with miniature spears and weapons and
observing their blood-sport pastimes on close inspection induces a notion of terror
and fear. At the same time, the detail with which her objects are crafted leave us
with wonder and amazement and we sense that the boundaries between what is 'real'
and what is 'imagined' are being blurred.
During the exhibition at Chapter, Farmer's creatures will quietly take over and
infest the space - similar to ants in the summer invading the kitchen, or fruit
flies gathering around litter bins. Some fairies will be flying, others will be
found on surfaces. Armed with deathly weaponry, they will defend themselves against
any human intruders who dare to interfere with their cause.
Biography
Tessa Farmer obtained an MFA Fine Art degree from the Ruskin School of Drawing and
Fine Art, Linacre College, University of Oxford in 2003.
Her work has been shown across the UK and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions
include 'The Terror', Firstsite, Cholchester, 2006; solo show at Kalmthout
Arboretum, Belgium, 2004 and 'Touch Wood', Rochester Art Gallery, 2002. Her work has
also been included in a large number of group exhibitions, most recently 'Am
Schlimmsten: nicht im Sommer sterben', Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Germany,
17 March - 29 April 2007; 'Scope New York' with Charlie Smith London, New York,
2007; 'Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear', COMA, Berlin, 2006;
'Repatriating the Ark', Museum of Garden History, London, 2006; 'International Arts
Pestival', Wetland Centre, London, 2006; 'London Art Fair', Projects Area, Clapham
Art Gallery, 2006; 'Berliner Liste Art Fair' with Clapham Art Gallery, Berlin, 2005
and 'Zoo Art Fair' with Museum 52, London, 2005.
The artist has received various awards, including the RBS Bursary Award in 2005, the
AHRB award for postgraduate study in 2002 and the Vivien Leigh Prize from the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2000. Farmer's work is held in private collections in
Europe and the USA and can also be found in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford and the Saatchi Collection.
Opening Times: Monday - Sunday 9 -10.30pm
Chapter Gallaery
Market Road - Cardiff