Holly Davey A Script for an Archive
 
Holly Davey   A Script for an Archive
Holly Davey, A Script for an Archive, 2020

Holly Davey   Scene no. 7, A Script for an Archive  2020  Original photograph from the Bulwer collection at the British School at Rome, red lighting gel, bulldog clip  


25 September - 31 October 2020


Friday 25 September: Preview by appointment only, 5-9pm (face mask mandatory)


Saturday 10 Oct, 1-5pm: Opportunity to meet and talk with the artist


Saturday 17 Oct, 1-5pm: Opportunity to meet and talk with the artist

For Holly Davey’s first solo exhibition at the gallery, the artist will create an environment out of unusable props, half-made costumes and semi-constructed sets, that will sit alongside a central script: A Script for an Archive. Together, these components will explore society’s fascination with archiving human existence and the way we perform our stories. The exhibition emerges out of Davey’s work and research during her fellowship at the British School of Rome in 2019, where, inspired by a member of Cinecitta Studio staff saying to her that ‘It all begins with a page, without the script there is nothing’, she made a series of model sets and dysfunctional props, and wrote a script. It is only when the audience inhabits the exhibition that the work becomes complete. The audience become the performers, activating the space with their presence. When the semi-constructed objects are placed together with the audience’s movement, a new narrative is formed about the way we live; the way we construct a sense of belonging and the fragmented remnants we leave behind.

A central theme throughout the exhibition is the lone female figure, the outline of an absence. This motif derives from the photographic collection of the work of Agnes and Dora Bulwer, two unmarried sisters, who lived in Rome in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Together they went on field trips, photographing ruins, the landscape and local people. In the photographic trace left, a lone woman is often pictured in the landscape; she is presumed to be one of the sisters. Agnes and Dora Bulwer’s lives are now almost invisible, yet this lone woman comes to signify their forgotten story. All that is left is an outline, a silhouette, a cut out of a life.

Inspired by and using archival photographs from the Bulwer collection at the British School of Rome, alongside research visits to the city’s Cinecitta, to explore the studio of Oscar winning set designer, Dante Ferretti, A Script for an Archive was written. It investigates the connections between the constructed reality of a film set; how we create a sense of belonging and what remains of our lives. Excavating our relationship with the world around us, Davey removes the layers of fragmented reality, investigating and exploring the dysfunctionality of these constructed viewpoints that are normally made for the camera lens. During the exhibition, the audience will be able to wander through the stage-ruins experiencing the imagined remnants of these women’s lives, our lives. On the last day of the exhibition, A Script for an Archive will be inhabited and performed by two actors over Zoom.

The exhibition is accompanied by an essay by independent curator, writer and cultural advisor Tessa Jackson OBE.

Holly Davey’s practice involves working closely with ideas around place, absence and the archive. Her lens-based practice includes sculpture, performance and text. She is interested in the heritage of a location or a collection, especially its lost and largely forgotten social history. Since graduating from Goldsmiths College, London, Davey has exhibited both nationally and internationally. In 2019, she was the Creative Wales Fellow at the British School at Rome. In 2018, she had solo exhibitions at g39, Cardiff and The Hardwick Gallery, Cheltenham Spa. Recent commissions include Here is Where We Came From at Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth; There is No There There, A La Ronde, National Trust, Exeter; Here Is Where We Meet, a Situations Commission for Bath & Bristol Weekender and The Nameless Grace at The Holburne Museum, Bath, She has taken part in several international residencies and in 2017 was the recipient of a Creative Wales Award. She lives and works in Cardiff.

Video walk through of Holly Davey's A Script for an Archive

Holly Davey, Set model no. 4, 2020

Holly Davey  A Script for an Archive  2020  Installation view   Danielle Arnaud
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Set Model no. 4, 2020

Holly Davey  Set model no. 4  2020  Red lighting gel, plaster, plywood  12.5 x 7.5 x 10.5cm
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Set model no. 4,  2020

Holly Davey  Set model no. 4  2020  Red lighting gel, plaster, plywood  12.5 x 7.5 x 10.5cm
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Scene no. 8, 2020

Holly Davey  Scene no. 8  2020  Original photograph from Bulwer Collection at The British School at Rome, green lighting gel, bulldog clip  31 x 25.5cm
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, Scene Sequence no. 2, 2020

Holly Davey  Scene Sequence no. 2  2020  Original photographs from Bulwer Collection at The British School at Rome  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, A Script for an Archive, 2020

Holly Davey  A Script for an Archive  2020  Installation view   Danielle Arnaud
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Prop no. 1 and Prop no. 2, 2020

LEFT: Holly Davey  Prop no. 1  2020  Photocopy paper, plaster, plywood  Dimensions variable
RIGHT: Holly Davey  Prop no. 2  2020  Cotton fabric, plaster, plywood  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Skirt, 2020

Holly Davey  Skirt  2020  Pattern paper, cotton fabric, plaster, plywood, green felt  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Skirt, 2020

Holly Davey  Skirt  2020  Pattern paper, cotton fabric, plaster, plywood, green felt  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Silhouettes no. 1, no. 2, no. 3, 2020

Holly Davey  Silhouettes no. 1, no. 2, no. 3   2020  Acetate, black pen  29.7 x 21cm
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Set Model no. 3, 2020

Holly Davey  Set Model no. 3  2020  Photocopy cut out, plaster, plywood  13.5 x 9.5 x 14cm
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Flats 1-12, 2018

Holly Davey  Flats 1-12   2018  Plywood and coloured Perspex  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Flats 1-12, 2020

Holly Davey  Flats 1-12   2018  Plywood and coloured Perspex  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Flats 1-12, 2020

Holly Davey  Flats 1-12   2018  Plywood and coloured Perspex  Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, Flats 1-12, 2020

Holly Davey  A Script for an Archive  2020  Installation view   Danielle Arnaud
Installation view by Oskar Proctor  

Holly Davey, Untitled, 2020

Holly Davey  Untitled  2020  Plaster, plywood, red felt   Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, Pick Up Shots, 2020

Holly Davey  Pick up shots  2020  Video, on camera field monitor   Duration: 6 mins
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, A Script for an Archive, 2020

Holly Davey  A Script for an Archive  2020  Danielle Arnaud   Installation view
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, A Script for an Archive, 2020

Holly Davey  A Script for an Archive  2020  Danielle Arnaud   Installation view
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

Holly Davey, Jacket, 2020

Holly Davey  Jacket  2020  Paper pattern, cotton fabric, plaster, plywood, red felt   Dimensions variable
Installation view by Oskar Proctor

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