Swoosh
Well Projects is excited to present Swoosh, a solo show by Hannah Tilson that brings together works made over the last 2 years. The works in Swoosh hover above an optical fizz of chroma key. The criss-cross tiles on the gallery floor, reminiscent of Hito Steyerl’s ‘how not to be seen’ or the first house you ever built on sims, bring to mind the structure and staging of a hollywood film set. Within this space, questions of how images are constructed, how they present themselves and how we fit into them are mirrored by the flowing and entangled pattern-scapes of Tilson’s drawings and paintings.
Tilson’s diverse interests and immersion in the freneticism of everyday life drive the composition in her works; a background as a musician and interests in fashion and textiles find a meeting ground in an exploration of the stage and the process of staging – an interface in which objects, sound, pattern and figure come together. Over the last year, the stage for Tilson has for the most part been her bedroom – in a search for new source material Tilson would create theatrical sets in her room from swathes of fabric and intricate lighting rigs. Situating herself within these sets Tilson found a way to explore an entangled spatial relationship to her surroundings, merging into a world of pattern and form.
Seemingly conjured from nothing by our new holographic environment simulator gallery space, the works in Swoosh trace constellations of marks in a flowing almost calligraphic language. Whilst all possessing a unique, spatially ambiguous rhythm, Tilsons use of colour shifts from high contrast vibrancy to soft subtle monochromatics. Tilsons interest in overload and excess have been refined here through the production of her own paints – a tactile and delicate material process that gives fine control over opacity intensity and finish. Within this subtle palette Tilson’s shapeshifter works take deep breaths, animated and alive as you scan their surface.