- Venue
- The Muse Gallery
- Starts
- Thursday, October 8, 2020
- Ends
- Sunday, October 25, 2020
- Address
- 269 Portobello Road, W11 1LR
- Location
- London
- Organiser
- The Muse Gallery
Residency Program Final Show 2020
Hugo Lami – Cecilia di Paolo – Rory Watson
8-25 October 2020,
Opening Night 8 October, 6-9pm
book your ticket on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/123297158119
Hugo Lami, Cecilia di Paolo and Rory Watson – Residents at the Muse and recent graduates from some of the best Art schools and Universities in the UK.
Residency from January to August delayed by COVID19. Some of the works created on site, some off; in the country and abroad.
Final show presents results of this unusual pandemic residency and ultimate creative response.
Hugo Lami (1994, Portugal) lives and works in London.
His artistic work makes use of history and mythology in contrast with the technological and cultural evolution of our time.
I have always been drawn towards sci-fi and fantasy worlds that reimagine reality under different paradigms. I love technology, but I also hate it. The promise of a perfect relationship given by the amenities of each new device that comes to the market gives me hope that
maybe that’s the one which is going to change my life. It never is.
My research is based on a work of ‘digital’ archeology of the past, the present, and speculation of the future, in order to understand and configure a reality that does not fit exactly in an analog or digital dimension. Taking this as a starting point it is essential to work with the artifacts, utensils, and traces of a species that is undergoing a paradigm shift. Not only by identifying and materializing what was, but also what is happening now and what is idealized that will happen in the future.
COVID residency experience
In the wake of a new decade who could suppose a pandemic would wipe our frenetic lifestyle and restrict our liberty. Even though this pandemic has been bad in many ways, it was not bad for those who found the quietness and time to make art. I took the chance to paint so much and think and write without the pressure of a deadline or a FOMO (fear of missing out) events. Having the Muse studio was crucial to be able to produce work and I
could have never reached so much if I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.
Cecilia Di Paolo is a London based artist. Originating from Rome, and Educated at the Arts University Bournemouth, Di Paolo’s body of work, primarily realised through photography, film and performance, explores and deconstructs cultural notions of intimacy, tenderness and love through a dystopian lens. Her recent series ‘Made To Be Loved’, explores everyday narratives played out in heterotopian spaces via the fictional character of ‘Abigal’, a doll played by Di Paolo Herself. Purpose, sexuality and design are contrasted with aspects of fulfilment, loneliness and love through the character of the doll. At the heart of Cecilia’s work is the intensely human pursuit of connection; a reimagined line between artwork and audience, reaching out and inviting you to affix yourself with the work, fulfilled through the tactility of her still life and self portraiture. The versatility of Di Paolo’s strong style is recognised via residencies, solo and group exhibition as well as commercial and editorial work, using her creative fluency in still life to execute elegantly impactful campaigns for brands.
Rory Watson is a London based artist having graduated from Central Saint Martins. His practice discusses the influence of digital culture on our contemporary society. Focussing predominantly on portraiture, Rory distorts the face to suggest how we project personas that do not accurately reflect our true selves. With each portrait beginning with an image of himself, Rory refers to his artworks as avatars; referencing the virtual presence individuals have in the digital age. The disfiguring of the face escapes accurate visible representation, tapping into the fabricated truths of the virtual and emphasising the difference between the digital world and the real. A deeper look into Rory’s practice reveals how he examines more existential questions about the realities of our own existence. Metaphorically comparing the digital world to ones ego and a mirrors reflection, Rory examines how alternative extensions of the self further explore detail in character.
