David Burrows > Project Info

DAVID BURROWS: New Life

21.04.04 – 06.06.04

Disaster, terror and hysteria are at the heart of New Life, David Burrows’ major new installation for Chisenhale Gallery.

New Life is introduced by a series of ‘Articles of Faith’, based on Martin Luther’s revolutionary Theses of 1517, an event that created political and religious chaos in Europe. These texts have been updated by Burrows to encompass the mass media and celebrity culture. Inside the exhibition space, a specially created fresco of a burst heart is emblazoned with the slogan ‘The Modern Spirit is Never Again’.

Strewn throughout the gallery, a baroque assemblage of debris appears to have been created by a recent catastrophe, violent event or frenzied celebration. Ripped shoes and fragments of clothing, suspended in motion, are arranged against a backdrop of damaged architectural structures. Large-scale photographic tableaux, influenced by shop window display, depict apparent consumer chaos.

The initial impression of devastation in New Life is interrupted by immaculate attention to detail, saturated colours and a floor that sparkles with grey dust. Burrows works with precision and care, meticulously cutting his objects from soft materials such as foam, rubber and vinyl. An air of optimism and joy is proposed by the ruins of New Life.

New Life is David Burrrows' first solo exhibition in a public gallery in London. New Life tours to:

Collective Gallery, Edinburgh: 10 July - 7 August 2004
Mead Gallery, University of Warwick: 29 September - 2 December 2004
Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth: January - March 2005

In 2001 David Burrows exhibited in Beck's Futures 2 (ICA London & touring). Previous solo exhibitions include Praz-Delavallade, Paris (2001); fa projects, London (2002); Fredericke Taylor Gallery, New York (2002); Note, Arezzo (2002). Burrows' practice also includes collaborations, most recently with DJ Simpson at Artspace Sydney as part of an Arts Council England International Residency in 2003. Burrows received a Paul Hamlyn Award for Visual Artists in 2002.

COMMISSIONED BY CHISENHALE GALLERY AND MEAD GALLERY, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

For more information or press enquiries please contact Stuart Croft on 020 8981 4518 or email stuart.croft@chisenhale.org.uk