Chisenhale Gallery, London E3
chisenhale.org.uk

During In Cascades, Canadian artist Lotus Laurie Kang's, current solo exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery, she guest-facilitated this Chisenhale Crit with Peer Sessions (Kate Pickering and Charlotte Warne Thomas) open to the public, discussing the work of two artists with the assembled group.

Andrew Mottershead presented a number of works consisting of coloured lettering cut-out of cardboard and suspended across the room at height. The group were reminded of headlines, banners and posters, and there was some discussion about the choice of capital letters and the font trying to be 'neutral'. Consideration of the content of the phrases found them open to interpretation and difficult to pin down. This led to debate about language, and it's failure to communicate human sentiments, despite our ultimate reliance on it.

Moza Al Mazrouei showed a recent film Paved in red; from colonial pavements to Martian potholes (which was missing its narration soundtrack). The group identified different film styles, including documentary style shots, combined with more lingering and abstract stills, especially in the second half. The discussion focussed on the post-colonial narratives of ore extraction that were shown, with some bringing up ideas of class and more nuanced kinds of exploitation (of people and nature) taking place in parts of England during colonial times. Many respondents commented on the audio, with the atmospheric soundtrack feeling dystopic to some.

Andrew Mottershead is an artist based in London. He is part of  the UK artist duo French & Mottershead together with Rebecca French.

http://frenchmottershead.com/
@iamandrewmottershead

Moza Al Mazrouei is a recent graduate from the Slade School of Fine Art

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/events/shows/2022/ba-bfa/moza-al-mazrouei/
@moza.samosa

Images (from top)

- Group discussion of  Andrew Mottershead's work
- Andrew Mottershead, WHISPERS STAY INSIDE, 2023, hand-cut acid-free paper on wire rope; text area 100cm x 33cm
- Still from Moza Al Mazrouei's film Paved in red; from colonial pavements to Martian potholes 2023
- Still from Moza Al Mazrouei's film Paved in red; from colonial pavements to Martian potholes 2023