2018-2020
(ANCIENT GREEK FOR “ALL IS WELL”)
A NARRATIVE ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF MAN. METICULOUSLY CREATED OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS AND PHOTOGRAPHED WITH ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT.
THERE IS A BOOK VERSION (24x24”) PRINTED ON GAMPI PAPER AND MOUNTED ON SILVER LEAF ON HANDMADE PAGES, AS WELL AS A LARGER VERSION IN A SIMILAR STYLE (36x48”) INDIVIDUALLY FRAMED.
A 12 page book of 10 A3 images printed on silver leaf backed Gampi paper which are mounted on sheets of handmade board and bound with cotton.
(WIP) AN ONGOING SERIES OF EPIGRAPHS MADE IN PLASTER AND ASH
ARCHIVAL INKJET PRINT, PLASTER, ASH, PVA, STEEL
27 x 35 AND 21 x 27 INCHES
2016
INSPIRED BY A VISIT TO POMPEI AND GREEK DRAMA, THIS SERIES TOUCHES ON HOW MAN DEALS WITH THE “UNKNOWN”. MAN IS CREATIONIST, AND USES THIS TO PROVIDE HIS OWN ANSWERS, NO MATTER HOW COUNTER-INTUITIVE. MAN BUILDS ON THEM: CREATING INSTITUTES, AND WAGING WAR, WITH THESE COUNTER-INTUITIVE FANTASIES AT ITS BASE. IT’S ABOUT MAN DEFINING HIMSELF AND OFTEN ENGAGING IN SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR.
Dye Sublimation Print on Chromaluxe Aluminium
36 x 48 inches
Edition of 5
11 x 14 inches
Edition of 10
2015
Whether the characters are read as simple/advanced, archaic/modern, or past/future they are all valid interpretations of a behaviour that been prevalent since mans first step: an obsession with technology and its application for a violent means.
Inkjet Photo Prints mounted on Fibre Paper, Wooden handles
Edition of 5 – 22 x 84 inches
2015
“Ten Million Years a Mushroom” is a non-linear narrative which explores the evolution of a set of characters. Presented as a scroll with an aged feel to it, it appears to be a cross between a found artefact and a modern photo-fiction.
The title refers to the theory that, as life began on earth about 400 million years ago, the tree of life saw a split. In one genetic kingdom were plants, and in the other was us (animals) and mushrooms. For about ten million years, mushrooms shared a common evolutionary history with humans.
The foundation of Willie’s sculptural work is an interconnected mesh of ideas (both visual and text based) that often results in ambiguous or absurd objects that can be read on many levels. The work often plays on two logics that are independently credible yet, when combined, create tension or absurdity. They are a comment on “intellectual disorder” .
The ongoing series “The Incomplete Thought” is based on found objects using an interconnected mesh of ideas that often results in ambiguous or absurd objects that can be read on many levels. The work often plays on two logics that are independently credible yet, when combined, create tension or absurdity. They are a comment on “intellectual disorder” .
These mise-en-scènes photographs take a cinematic construct, yet, “Old Master”-ly approach to photography. The sets and props (all of which Nash creates in his studio) are richly coloured and packed with darkly romantic symbolism. They are a bleakly comedic “nature show” exploring the human condition and behaviour. The central figure(s), is often placed in an awkward setting surrounded with symbols of fertility, technology, death and knowledge to display their self-assertive ability to deal with such an uncanny situation, raising questions about freewill and where it fits in with our biological make-up. Works touch on a variety of aspects relating to the human condition, ranging from a character’s irrational urge to reproduce to the sudden realisation of certain death; still, others grapple with the burdens brought on by technology and by knowledge. All raise the question of freewill: Does it exist or are we slaves to our biology, instinctually following a set of survival skills that override the ideological concept of “freewill”?
These mise-en-scènes photographs take a cinematic construct, yet, “Old Master”-ly approach to photography. The sets and props (all of which Nash creates in his studio) are richly coloured and packed with darkly romantic symbolism. They are a bleakly comedic “nature show” exploring the human condition and behaviour. The central figure(s), is often placed in an awkward setting surrounded with symbols of fertility, technology, death and knowledge to display their self-assertive ability to deal with such an uncanny situation, raising questions about freewill and where it fits in with our biological make-up. Works touch on a variety of aspects relating to the human condition, ranging from a character’s irrational urge to reproduce to the sudden realisation of certain death; still, others grapple with the burdens brought on by technology and by knowledge. All raise the question of freewill: Does it exist or are we slaves to our biology, instinctually following a set of survival skills that override the ideological concept of “freewill”?
A selection of early works by Willie Nash