Insertion is the act of putting one thing into another. It implies tension, something has to give; something has to get. Operating between installation, exhibition and experiment, INSERT YOURSELF prompts an intensified personal engagement with sculpture and its environment. 

 

INSERT YOURSELF presents an assemblage of sculptural works into which participants are invited to insert themselves, generating a living performance of individual choreographies as the gap between the creator and the audience vanishes. Participants become actively entangled within the works entering into a bodily relationship with object and form; bringing forward a physical awareness of the spaces, situations and frameworks we insert ourselves into. 

 

INSERT YOURSELF combines Dale's approach to both sculpture and performance, particularly her interest in the notion of what she terms 'objecthood' - using performance to think about what it means to be an object, be perceived, or treated, as an object. 

 

This installation will be accompanied by a series of new compositional works by Leeds based composer Jia Lee. Encompassing drone-heavy pieces recorded from site-specific field recordings laced with an ethereal swarm of vocals, generating a meditative sonic escape both rich and deep in introspection. Sparsely scattered in the background within the space, these sounds will be an invitation to the viewers to insert into themselves not only into the sculptures, but the experience. As the music makes its way to the listeners, emotional perceptions will vary; of either meditative sentimentality or overt drama. You’d have to insert yourself to find out. 

 

Of reveries and realism, Jia’s work explores the conscious and subconscious minds, as she seeks to amplify ambiguous societal narratives and conventions grasped by the senses. Sensations, emotions, feelings, these abstract forms of individual sensibility count. Lee’s new compositional works serve to expand the ‘sensory mix’ between the sculptures and the viewers. Eliciting a mind-space-illusion that seeks to question not just what you see, but what you hear and how it makes you feel. 

 

INSERT YOURSELF hosted by PINK at SEESAW, launches Thursday 5th May 2022, 6-10pm and continues from 6th May until 22nd May 2022, Thursday - Sunday, 12-5pm, or by appointment.

 

A free and accessible public programme of discursive events and performance will punctuate the installation and exhibition. The dates, times and details can be found via PINK’s Instagram - @pinkmcr_  

 

With special thanks to SEESAW and 86 Princess Street for their continued support in making these projects possible. 

 

For more information, including sales enquiries, group visits or to request a press pack, please contact Katy Morrison via pinkmanchester@gmail.com 

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Nicola Dale is a visual artist. She is concerned with the nature and construction of ideas - how they are made visible and how time affects their communication. She has recently worked with: Bobinska Brownlee, London; Begehungen Festival, Chemnitz; The Grundy, Blackpool; Echo Echo, Derry; Backlit, Nottingham; Corte SuperNova, Venice; Leeds Arts University; Lazio Museums Centre, Rome; The Portico, Manchester; International 3, Salford; Mostyn, Wales; Turner Contemporary, Margate; Chisenhale Studios, London; Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida; Open Eye, Liverpool and Shanghai College of Fine Arts.

 

nicoladale.com

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Jia Lee is a Leeds based composer whose involvement in a wide range of projects - films, arts, installations, production music and solo releases - has appeared in major music labels and independent galleries. In 2020, she started working as a composer at Engrave Production Music and in the following year, she became a Production Manager for the sub-label Pitch Eminence. 

Throughout the year her works were published on labels including Warner Chappell Production Music and BMG Production Music. In 2021, she was commissioned by visual artist Luke Walwyn to write music for a curated collection of art and fashion film shorts. In the same year she was involved as a contributing composer to multiple National Geographic's shark's special series, licensed across worldwide streaming platforms including Disney+. 

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jiacomposer.com