PRESS RELEASE

Feet. Brain. Back Again.

Sarah Ryder tests out concepts of expanded painting, often making 2D works that transform into 3D. Underpinned by notions of imperfection, temporality, the structure of systems, and the balance of chaos and control, Ryder’s processes fluctuate between playful and contemplative – both states being equal to, and dependant on the other.

This latest body of work sees Ryder focus predominantly on making paintings with aluminium foil as a substrate to work on, and with. It is cheap and has great material properties which allow Ryder the freedom to experiment with scale and form. The floor-based ‘repose series’ are defined by the aftermath of someone being in the painting then creeping out, leaving a freestanding piece structurally settled by the action and space a body once took.

Rutger Bregman’s book ‘Humankind’ and Ece Temelkuran’s book ‘Together’ are significant inspirations for Ryder, with their thoughtful and empowering words on the age we live in. In particular, the assertion from Temelkuran that: “…all the insanity of our times is the consequence of the collapse of a system, not the collapse of humankind.” And from Bregman that “most people are pretty decent” citing many examples of how positive narratives get twisted into negative in order to benefit a ruling class agenda. Both authors imbue the idea of working together to build up collective strength by revealing the cause, sharing ideas and information, so we have the power to act.

Ryder’s foil paintings are defiantly never finished; in an ever-adapting status of iterations, vulnerable in the time they have yet strong, open, and active in creating the possibilities of their future. This will be the second iteration of Feet. Brain. Back Again. after showing in Caernarfon, Wales earlier this year (please see install shots below for ref).