Nelson Henricks (Montréal)

Map of the City

29/02/08 - 30/03/08

Opening: fri 29/02/08 at 7pm

Artist talk: sun 30/03/08 at 4pm

Nelson Henricks recent work Map of the City, is a two-channel video installation that explores the correlations between architecture and words. Initiated during a six-month residency in Rome, this work sees the city as a text environment, as a kind of library that requires both readers and writers. The video piece is a complex blend of text and images where mundane objects take centre stage, grow and multiply, creating small evanescent worlds for the viewer to actively consume. Map of the City is inspired by chapels and cathedrals, which act as three-dimensional, immersive representations of the Bible. Quotes from The Gospel of Thomas and The Bible are interwoven with original text, still photos and electronic soundscapes. The city is seen an accumulation of gestures and desires that outstrip the life of the individual, upholding the view of the city as a living organism.