Hayden Dunham
inside darkness, there are no lines
November 15th 2018 - February 3rd 2019
Photographs by Steve Benisty
Times Square Space presents a solo exhibition by Hayden Dunham featuring an installation and new works made during the artist’s two-month residency at TSS from September to November, 2018. The exhibition is curated by Tiffany Zabludowicz. Dunham was born in 1988 in Austin, TX, she lives and works in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY and holds a BA from NYU Gallatin. She has participated in exhibitions and performances at Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France; MoMA PS1, New York, NY; New Museum, New York, NY; SIGNAL Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; and at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland. Zabludowicz was born in London, England, and is a curator and founder of Times Square Space. A publication called vii: wings folded to the sky has been created alongside this exhibition.
This exhibition considers darkness not as a place of fear or confusion, but rather as a moment where clarity can be garnered from stillness. In a difficult world, where so much is shrouded in darkness, it is only through obfuscating vision that perception can steadily change. inside darkness, there are no lines highlights the potential of darkness to be transformative as the absence of light blurs boundaries and makes space for information to be received outside of direct vision. When visual senses are removed, people are required to rely upon their other senses; rather than seeing the world, they feel. When the body fades into shadows, the lines that define it are released. At night the container of the body is challenged, which invites mutability and expansion, as people’s bodies slip into the atmosphere and become a part of the darkness and a part of the world. Inside darkness, there are no lines holds an invitation.
There is a constant flow of people through Times Square, much like the ebbs and flows of water. In the traditional city square, the fountain is a place where people stop and gather. The central feature of this exhibition is a fountain filled with a new chlorophyll-based material called “HYD” developed by the artist. Throughout the run of the show, the flowing liquid, HYD, quietly forms into a motionless solid. Although it happens very gradually and consequently cannot be seen by the human eye, there is a conversion occurring. The viewers are invited into a moment of stillness and possibly an ensuing transformation of their own.
News
Hayden Dunham by Ceci Moss, Cura Magazine, 2017
Suomalaismiljardöörin tytär esittelee nuoria taiteilijoita New Yorkin ytimessä – HS vieraili näyttelyn avajaisissa, Helsingin Sanomat, 2018