This exhibition marks the first major show by Dundee-based artist Saoirse Amira Anis.

The artist works across sculpture, performance, photography, film, writing and drawing; proudly working in all these mediums without finesse but with a lot of love. Anis's practice priortises radical care, informality, and empathy. Her work is informed by Black queer literature, her personal ancestry, and her own body as it moves through the world. She incorporates bodily knowledge and care into each facet of her work, considering the ways in which the body holds ancestral and lived memories.

The artist's newly commissioned film gives the exhibition its title symphony for a fraying body. The moving image sits within a scupltural frame, surrounded by walls awash with colour, alongside what the artist referes to as 'detritus': the by-products from the film's creation. These remains give a sense of the film creeping out from the screen into the gallery, blurring the lines between the screen, materials and surroundings. The gallery has been crafted as a space of comfort for audiences: to rest, breathe, watch. It is the artist's intention that visitors will be encouraged to slow down and consider what if feels like to be in body in this moment in time: not alone but as a part of a community linked by shared worry, shared rage, and shared love.

Saoirse Amira Anis grew up in the countryside near Lanark and is now based in Dundee. Her work has been exhibited recently in the form of a solo show at Campleline, Dumfries, and as part of the Platform commissions for the 2022 Edinburgh Art Festival. Other recent projects include: Jupiter Rising, Jupiter Artland, 2021; A Lesson in Vanity, David Dale Gallery and Lux Scotland, July 2021; and We Can Still Dance, Jupiter Artland, as part of the Black Lives Matter Mural Trail.

Image Caption

Saoirse Amira Anis Holding Barzakh 2022. Image courtesy of the artist. Captioning courtesy of Valery Tough

Location
Table
  • Room

    Gallery 1

  • Venue

    Dundee Contemporary Arts

  • Address

    152 Nethergate, Dundee, UK

  • Phone Number

    01382 432 444

  • Website