SPACE

15 May - 12 June 2004

Nooshin Farhid & Eileen Perrier

A woman aims a gun at her own image as a TV presenter warns of an impending hurricane; A security guard watches a bank of monitors as a 70’s pop idol sings of being out of control; the banality of the hair salon gives way to a street strewn with discarded fashion shoes.

These are some of the contradictory images that permeate Nooshin Farhid’s recent video work, exploring different narrative situations and visual scenarios. Her starting point often begins with the ordinary and the mundane, through her acute observation she focuses on the interplay between lucidity and reason, obsession and madness. Out of the unimportant and the unremarkable there emerges extreme psychological moments. However this potentially dark material is often explored through the vehicle of humour and also with a certain sense of detachment as if viewed from the outside.

Nooshin Farhid came to the UK as a political refugee following the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Her experience of being outside the dominant culture, particularly in relation to language, is the root of her observations. This ‘view from the outside’ often leads to absurd situations, obsessive behaviour and the breakdown in communications, the smooth flow of the narrative becomes fragmented and disjointed.

Her recent exhibitions include, Nights In at Gasworks Gallery, 2001, Wait for Me at The London Institute Gallery Milbank 2002, Videos D’Ocasio at The Antonio Tapies Foundation Barcelona, 2003, Subject to Endless Gossip Sparwasser HQ Berlin 2004 and Homeland Spacex Gallery, Exeter, 2004.

Eileen Perrier’s intimate colour portraits celebrate individuality, within the framework of accidental common ground. Her luscious portraits are full of empathy and understanding for her subjects, allowing them to transform their surroundings through the distinct fulfillment of themselves. Perrier photographs her sitters at their most relaxed, like old friends. With their guards dropped, these individuals reveal a unique character that transcends the shared aspects of each image. By making this distinction, Perrier questions the ways we construct public and private identities, or how we find that others construct them for us.

Perrier will be showing two series of work at The Triangle; 6-8 (2000 present) and a new series of work Found (2003 present). In 6-8 Perrier photographs the often unseen and unconsidered cleaners of public galleries. She captures the unique characteristics of her subjects, the movement of an arm or the angle of a head that make them stand out from their surroundings. Within the prestigious galleries where they work, Perrier brings these personalities to the centre stage.

In Perrier’s new work Found she photographs strangers that pass through her studio building. Each sitter poses with a dropped or discarded object that had been found in the street. The meaning/ history attached to each of these objects is re-defined by the individuality of Perrier’s subjects. Perrier always tries to give a copy of each photograph she takes to her subject. This acts as an acknowledgment between photographer and sitter whilst building the trust that gives her access to the intimate personalities of her subjects.

Eileen Perrier lives and works in London. Recent exhibitions include Drawing with Light at Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham 2003, Brixton Studio at The Photographers’ Gallery, London 2002, Envol at The Oxo Tower, London 2002 and Grace on The London Underground, Piccadilly Circus 2002. She is the winner of SPACE¹s Cultural Diversity Award 2003.