Demelza

Watts

fingers crossed

17five.net, London, UK
2018

First, a barricade formed out of the contents of the curators living room, provides both a wall to separate the space and a host for moments of collage. A sculpture of accumulation, a mass of burden, a play with belongings, a fort, a den, a homage to childhood folly, a reminder of storage nightmares, a defence.

“I wish” a collage containing an image of fingers crossed behind ones back, a moment or hope, or the escape in telling a lie? A childhood gesture so physical and bound within our muscle memory that it can even provide comfort years later once long alienated from belief and trust. A folded up paper containing forgotten treasures.

The video “My laptop is my home, the screen is my view” a window to a form of nomadic living; brought on by unreliable landlords, rising living costs, expanding cities, shrinking worlds, zero hour contracts, the reliability of mum and dad’s house, a rejection of nationality, a loss of identity?

demelza watts