Knot Works: Artists Screening

Works by Emily Hawes and Maud Haya-Baviera were presented together for first time.

Each artists’ work is rooted in research with both Hawes and Haya-Baviera interested in the investigation and interrogation of archives and alternative forms of knowledge.

In the work of Emily Hawes, research leads the artist to conduct explorations to places of special interest. These visits become pilgrimages of a sort, allowing the artist to further understand the history of place and surrounding mythologies. Echoing her site visits, Hawes’ video work is slow to reveal its history, and it is through active looking that the traces of the past are revealed to viewers.

For Maud Haya-Baviera, explorations take place in archives and in the forgotten objects of the past. Through the close reading and interrogation of found language, which is often taken for granted, the artist seeks to tease out the truth of storytelling. Works are filled with sensitivity and moments of humour which invite viewers to question known versions of history that have historically been presented passively, without scrutiny.

Hawes and Haya-Baviera have spent extensive time developing their individual work as part of artist residencies. The residences have allowed each of them to become embedded in new locations and has offered them the opportunity to engage in dialogue with a variety of people. Their time as artists in residence has also permitted them access to unique collections of objects sometimes owned by museums and universities. Their work, developed in isolation to one another, can be seen as developing in parallel, with the artists both seeking to reveal forgotten or undiscovered histories and forms of knowledge. Their discoveries, however, are never purely documentary and instead, the works created wear this knowledge lightly, offering viewers the chance to discover what lies under the surface of each work.

Although firmly rooted in research and academic investigation, the works on show are visually rich, full of a wealth of emotion and exquisitely crafted. Whether it is through the heightening of colour, a tool utilised by both artists or using sound, handled sensitively by both Hawes and Haya-Baviera, the works on show demonstrate a mastery of the medium of filmmaking. It is through this mastery that the artists have created distinct imagery resulting in works full of atmosphere and personality.