LONDON.- GAZELL.iO is presenting the inaugural solo show by its represented artist Brendan Dawes. The exhibition, Moments Spent with Others, explores the beauty behind moments that may initially seem insignificant and how the concept of time and space is connected to the captivating feeling of interacting with others.
His second time exhibiting with the gallery, Moments Spent with Others, is an invitation to Dawes’ personal stories wrapped in digital visualisations. Over the recent pandemic period, as human interaction became scarce and precious, we grew accustomed to detaching ourselves from other people. Dawes embraces these moments by recreating them into datasets, algorithms, and data visualisations by incorporating memories that are personal to the artist but are also universally enjoyed.
One such memory is sitting on the edge of a building in Soho, New York, in 2001, whilst eating pizza with his friend and designer Hillman Curtis, who changed his life when Dawes moved to New York City to work for him. The work’s aesthetics captures the bustling colours of heavy New York traffic and other sensations Dawes experienced whilst watching life go by in this memory.
The second work takes inspiration from Dawes’ late-night experiences of watching classic films with his father, who ignited his passion for movies, making it an important reference point in much of the artists work to date. The colour profiles are incorporated from black and white Alfred Hitchcock films. Finally, the third work in the show reflects Dawes’ love for simply sitting on a park bench with his wife Lisa.
Specific elements of this pastime that resonate with the artist include people watching, and taking in the sights and sounds of the surroundings. The inspirations that shaped this work came from images taken by the couple, from their favourite park bench.
Dawes draws much of his inspiration from popular culture and nature, often revolving his work around the concept of time and memory – and how these can intertwine. These analytical explorations have been an ongoing theme over Dawes’ career, as his work questions our understanding of such concepts.
Brendan Dawes (B. 1966) is a UK based artist using generative processes involving data, machine learning and algorithms to create interactive installations, electronic objects, online experiences, data visualisations, motion graphics and imagery for screen and print. A Lumen Prize winner and Aesthetica Art Prize alumni, his work is featured in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, has been 3D printed on the International Space Station, and has been recognised by awards bodies including Fast Company Innovation Design, Information is Beautiful and D&AD. Dawes’ work was first exhibited in the GAZELL.iO Project Space, Mayfair, in May 2021 – as part of the group NFT show .ext with Claudia Hart and Tupac Martir. The sold-out series titled The Collectors (2021) consisted of three architectural 3D printed sculptures alongside three screens showing the corresponding NFT works. Each piece was inspired by Dawes’ top three NFT collectors: Paris Hilton, Whaleshark, and Vignesh Sundaresan (MetaKovan).
