Brass Art: rock, quiver and bend at HOME

HOME presents rock, quiver and bend, an exhibition from the artist trio Brass Art, made up of Chara Lewis, Kristin Mojsiewicz and Anneke Pettican. The multimedia show spotlights immersive video, sculpture and lens-based works, celebrating 25 years of the artists’ collaboration.

Light is the focus of rock, quiver and bend, with the artists showcasing how it can transform materials, whether through analogue, digital or laser means of capturing imagery. Passing through boundaries and the crossing of thresholds are recurring motifs in Brass Art’s oeuvre, signified by the use of reflective surfaces such as mirrors and foil blankets. Reflections are utilised in bouncing light around the room as well as revealing and juxtaposing interior and exterior spaces.

For rock, quiver and bend, the artist’s share a work created directly in response to their visit to Virginia Woolf’s writing shed at Rodmell. In fact, the show’s title is taken directly from a line in Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway. In this voice; this life; this procession (2024) light digitally rakes through the house, garden and Woolf’s writing room. The space is normally closed to the public, but Brass Art were allowed access for one day: as a result, they scanned themselves into the intimate space using laser-based media. With the digital work mimicking the fragmented, layered and atemporal nature of reality explored by Woolf in her writing, the work is a fitting exploration of similar issues, all accompanied by an electroacoustic soundtrack from composer Annie Mahtani. 

the torrent of things grown so familiar (2024) is a sculptural installation that reveals Brass Art’s interest in geology and the way rock formations, boulders and meteors act as markers of deep time and space. Botanical models appear on the inside as a result of digital scanning, with a physical exterior of shiny silver foil blankets. 

The Apparition (2014-2024) series draws on research into pre-cinematic spectacle. Coloured cellophane is used to create images inspired by the Modernist set designs of Florine Stettheimer: the artists are disguised with the material and use props to create shadow silhouettes, inspired by pre-cinema shadow show devices.

rock, quiver and bend gathers a fascinating collection of work, taking the viewer on a journey through both modern, innovative techniques alongside older, more traditional ways of manipulating light and image. The fluid structures on display elude definition and thrive on ephemerality. Brass Art’s experimental approaches to perception, narrative and technology make for a memorable show and a testament to the artists’ collaboration.