Grand Union presented drye eyes, the first solo exhibition in England by artist Lauren Gault.
drye eyes comprises a series of sculptural moments and objects. This new body of work explores potential and the ‘in-between’ state through an eclectic mix of substances. These included blown and scientific glass, pressure adjusted water, welded PVC, cast gel, dry stitched neoprene, salt dough and collapsed foam.
At the core of Lauren’s practice is thinking around material potential, prolongevity and agency: where and how does matter move, collapse and re-emerge? Lauren refers to an opened-ended nature of material – its capacity to deviate from the present and allude to the past or potential future. What can we learn from these occurrences and material encounters more broadly – ecologically, politically, personally?
Alongside the exhibition there was a public programme responding to the work involving artists and musicians through writing, performance and conversation.
Events at Grand Union
Friday 1 February 6–8pm
The opening of drye eyes by Lauren Gault, as part of Digbeth First Friday.
Friday 1 March 6–8pm
We presented a newly-commissioned performance by Birmingham-based opera troupe Infinite Opera in response to the exhibition, exploring sound and performance as a formal object.
March – April
Artist Laura Onions was in residence during drye eyes, and presented newly-commissioned writing developed in dialogue with Lauren’s work.
Saturday 13 April, 1–3pm
Closing tour and discussion: Grand Union staff and guests were invited for reflections on the show and a discussion around Laura Onion’s text.
Lauren Gault is a Glasgow-based artist, born in Belfast in 1986. Forthcoming solo exhibitions and residencies include O-n, curated by David Dale Gallery, Glasgow at The Workbench, Milan (2019); Freelands Artist Programme at Gasworks (2019-2020); Recent exhibitions include present cOmpany, CCA Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland (2018); sequins, (with Sarah Rose), Glasgow International, Scotland (2018); lumpers and splitters, Prairie Underground, Seattle, U.S.A (2017); ØY Festival, Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland (2017); The Surface of Shrimp – The Gesture of Soap, UVE Collection, Berlin, Germany (2017); STEM, Lauren Gault and Sarah Rose, Baltic39, Newcastle, England (2017) he was there when I first smelled the smell, and now he is the smell, (with Zoe Claire Miller), Rinomina, Paris, France (2016); lipstick-NASA, Temporary Commission, Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, Scotland (2015).
With thanks to Gordon Bell, Richy Carey, Glasgow Sculpture Studios, ICL Tech, Siobhan McKenna, Mark McQueen, MJM Bespoke, Stephen Williams and Reid Wire.
