Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser at Cell Project Space

Artists: Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser

Exhibition title: Hergest: Nant

Venue: Cell Project Space, London, UK

Date: April 13 – May 27, 2018

Photography: images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Cell Project Space, London

Hergest: Nant is a collaborative project between Angharad Williams and Mathis Gasser. The exhibition is their third collaboration within the “Hergest” cycle and takes the form of an installation with all new works and a performance presented during the opening.

The exhibition takes the form of two distinct spaces, a waiting room and office space. A waiting room is a transitional space in which people pass and time slows down. The architecture keeps time in a situation where figures are forced to coexist momentarily.

Behind the waiting room is an office in stasis, vacated and prefabricated, referring to the bureaucratic procedures and structures of power. Whilst both rooms refer to existing institutional spaces they also function as imprecise placeholders for these structures.

“Hergest” is used as a name in Welsh and recalls the Red Book of Hergest, one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language which includes the Mabinogion. It is also the name of an elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales.

Their first collaboration Hergest, was shown at Glasgow International as part of the group exhibition Rough House organised by The Woodmill, 2016. Later in the same year, the artists showed Hergest: Haid at WallRiss, Fribourg, Switzerland.

Hergest: Nant is the outcome of an ongoing conversation between the two artists, working over shared interests and sensibilities, such as forms and tropes from science fiction, folklore and mythology.

Developed with the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

With special thanks to Lynne Morris, Rosie Moon, Richard Sides, Sam Moore and to Dan Mitchell, Lukas Hunt, Funmi Afuwape, Andriana Oborocean, Isabelle Pohle.

Angharad Williams (b. Bangor, Wales) currently lives between Rotterdam and Berlin. Recent projects include Clerks Quarters, KW, Berlin (2018); Houses are really bodies, Cubitt, London; Radiophrenia, CCA, Glasgow; Scattered Disc, Futura, Prague; LEFTOVERS, 3 137, Athens (2017); Assemble Relatives, TENT, Rotterdam (2016). Forthcoming solo exhibitions will take place at Youth Club, London and Liszt, Berlin

Mathis Gasser (b. Zurich, Switzerland) currently lives in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris; Cordova, Barcelona; Chewday’s, London; Kunsthaus Glarus (2017); Piper Keys, London; Centre d’édition contemporaine, Geneva (2016). Forthcoming groups shows include Foundation Painting Show, Glasgow International and a solo exhibition at Weiss Falk, Basel.

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Hergest: Nant, 2018, exhibition view, Cell Project Space, London

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, The Waiting Room, 2018 (Detail), Office floor tiles, Louis Ghost Chairs, locker, lighting gels

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Office, 2018, MDF board, magnolia paint, ex-display window, white egg-shell paint, LED floodlights, window frosting, plastic vines, carpet, writing matt, chair

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Causeway 2, 2018, Polystyrene, acrylic primer, plaster, oil paint, figurines, enamel, wood, filler 84 x 59 x 45cm

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Office, 2018 (Detail), MDF board, magnolia paint, ex-display window, white egg-shell paint, LED floodlights, window frosting, plastic vines, carpet, writing matt, chair

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Polar Bear, 2018, Polystyrene, air dry clay, plaster, enamel 18 x 42 x 26cm

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, The Waiting Room, 2018 (Detail), Office floor tiles, Louis Ghost Chairs, locker, lighting gels

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Pelican, 2018, Chair, bird figurines, epoxy 54 x 58 x 93cm

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Pelican, 2018 (Detail) Chair, bird figurines, epoxy 54 x 58 x 93cm

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Day Queen, 2018, Fabric, mannequin, walking stick Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Day Queen, 2018 (Detail) Fabric, mannequin, walking stick Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Joker, 2018, Fabric, mask, mannequin Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Joker, 2018 (Detail) Fabric, mask, mannequin Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Navigator Suits, 2018 Fabric (4-parts) Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Navigator Suits, 2018 (Detail) Fabric (4-parts), Dimensions variable

Angharad Williams & Mathis Gasser, Hergest: Nant, Performance, 2018