Web is an open edition artist book of photographs documenting a collaborative project by installation artist Kath Fries and performance artist Patricia Alvarez.
This perforative installation explores Fries and Alvarez's dual interests in challenging voyeuristic dynamics and experimenting with the tactility of fibers to extend and entangle the body.
Presented at Gaffa Galleries Sydney, 24 February 2011, the event was titled Clothe the wold and meet the sky referencing Tennyson's 1833 poem, The Lady of Shallot.
Similarly the title of this artist book, Web, also relates to famous lines in The Lady of Shallot:
Similarly the title of this artist book, Web, also relates to famous lines in The Lady of Shallot:
"out flew the web and floated wide
the mirror crack'd from side to side".
Kath Fries' immersive installation of nylon netting and synthetic hair strands, is characteristic of her site-responsive practice, situating everyday and domestic materials to seemingly grow out of the nocks and crannies of an exhibition space. Her exploration of materiality, spatiality, archetypal narratives is extended in this work to invite another person to step beyond the role of passive viewer and actively interact with her work.
The live performance lasted two hours and involved Alvarez singing whilst braiding her own hair into the netting and hair extensions. Her performance continued until she became too ensnared to physically turn her head. At that point when she tentatively shifted position she dragged the whole installation with her, threatening to pull down the entire cave of netting and trap the audience.
If you would like to read more about this collaborative project and see images of the 2011 exhibition, have a look at these earlier posts and critics' reviews:
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