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Esc, 2004 (video still)

This will be Lucy Gunning�s third solo exhibition at Matt�s Gallery. She has worked with video footage to observe aspects of human behaviour, focussing specifically on changes of state achieved through esoteric practice, intoxication, and protest. The videos are situated within an installation comprising of a large wall-painting that is both a back-drop and an abstract sign, and temporary structures fabricated from newspaper and cardboard that create other spaces within the gallery.

Esc, 2004 (installation view)

One video documents a group of people doing a particular Qi Gong exercise which involves shaking over an extended period of time. (Qi Gong is a Chinese form of exercise designed to stimulate the flow of energy through the body). Another video focuses on businessmen re-orientating themselves to the outside world to find their way home after an evening�s drinking. The third film depicts tree-houses built as a protest in a landscape that is under threat. These are temporary structures suspended above the land with rope walkways between them for the purpose of avoiding the bailiffs; whilst, as mechanisms of escape, they suggest fantasies of adventure and unrestrained existence.

Born Newcastle upon Tyne, Lucy Gunning lives and works in London. Education: M.F.A Goldsmiths College, 1994; B.F.A Falmouth School of Art, Cornwall, 1987. Solo exhibitions: Quarry, Spike Island, Bristol, 2003; The Centre for Drawing, Wimbledon School of Art, London; Passing/Performance, Matt�s Gallery & GLOSS, Vauxhall, London, 2002; Stage I (Show the Way Mischief), Westfalischer Kunstverein, Munster; Intermediate II, GreeneNaftali, New York; Intermediate II, Art Now, Tate Britain, London, 2001; Galeria Presenca, Porto, Portugal, 2000; [BACKSPACE], Matt�s Gallery London, 1999; GreeneNaftali Gallery, New York; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver, 1998; Matt�s Gallery, London; University of Buffalo Art Gallery, New York, 1997; Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston; GreeneNaftali Gallery, New York; City Racing, London; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996

Esc, 2004 (installation view)