This body of new works developed for Solstice Arts Centre stems from a period of research that looked broadly and specifically at forms of empathy and altruism and the complicated nature of how these elements are utilised in social relations. This research led to artist Mark Garry to becoming Through his research, Garry became increasingly interested in forms of societal displacement and what occurs when socially shared aspects of belonging are eroded.

The title of the exhibition ‘to hold or to be held’, in addition to referencing human intimacy and connectedness, also acts as a form of methodological approach. Many of the art works that make up the exhibition implicate systems where modest two and three-dimensional elements combine, where the artwork is simultaneously contained and a container, where one form or material sustains another. This model acts as a means to consider modes of inter reliance between materials, form and meaning. The fold is a persisting element of the art works, where the fold acts as a method of enabling forms or possibilities that are simultaneously elaborating and stabilising.

Whilst located in research this work prioritises the poetic over the didactic, where research elements are subtly embedded, and the works combine to enable an encounter that merges modesty and complexity.

to hold or to be held Book Launch 316

Sat 9 Mar | 2pm | Gallery | All are welcome, no booking required 

This publication is the second collaboration between artist Mark Garry, and graphic designer Louise Reddy, coinciding with Garry’s exhibition at Solstice Arts Centre.

Rather than addressing Garry’s artistic responses directly, the texts that make up this publication respond to the broader research area that informed the exhibition. The book implicates texts by Stephen Doyle, Mark Garry, Barbara Kneževic, Michael O’Hara and Louise Reddy. These authors respond to the research subject from a range of art theory, design, musicological, philosophical and psychoanalytical perspectives, and will join us in the gallery for an informal discussion on these elements.