Chisenhale Gallery, London E3
chisenhale.org.uk

This Chisenhale Crit took place during the exhibition Slumber Party (15 September 2023 - 12 November 2023), artist Benoît Piéron's current exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery, with esteemed guest facilitator artist Richard Deacon and Peer Sessions (Kate Pickering and Charlotte Warne Thomas), discussing the work of two artists with the assembled group.

Mike Dunford presented a short film Entanglement, which layered footage of beaches, flowers, horizons and more with digital effects to the point of abstraction. The conversation began with Richard Deacon identifyig 'love' as a central theme of the film, while others felt the use of collage and layers of natural objects and landscapes referred to ecological degradation or the indestructable force of mother nature.

Loreal Prystaj presented a number of works, including 3 monochrome photographic prints of a vase, a moving image split screen piece, a small bronze of a shell with finger and a hanging textile print of a crouching nude woman with animal horns. The discussion revolved around the references to myths, fables and perhaps biblical texts which the audience felt were present, and whether there was an allegorical dimension to the work.

Mike Dunford is a film-maker who lives in London. He is a former member of the London Film-makers Co-operative who worked in early video art in 1980s San Francisco. More recentlyhe started a cabinetmaking company and has been working on digital video-art since 2014.

https://mikedunfordfilms.co.uk/

Loreal Prystaj is a visual artist based in London and New York. Her work reflects themes on the phenomenology of consciousness, storytelling, and mysticism.

https://www.lorealprystaj.com/
@loreal_prystaj

Images (from top)

1. Richard Deacon points to details in Loreal Prystaj's moving image splits creen work
2. Still from Loreal Prystaj's moving image work Untitled, 2023
3. Still from Loreal Prystaj's moving image work Untitled, 2023
4. Still from Mike Dunford's film Entanglement 2022
5. Still from Mike Dunford's film Entanglement 2022