DOMINIC HARRIS: IMAGINE EXHIBITION

The artist

“A thread of existentialism exists in Dominic Harris’s work, a certain preoccupation with flowers, petals, butterflies, and a fascination with metamorphosis and transformative experiences. Harris’s works typically investigate a number of recurring elements and motifs, often working in tandem: interactivity/consequence, the aesthetic considerations of resolution and thirdly an investigation of animated life. However, rather than a series of static fixed points, there is a nuance, an interpolation effect where explorations of his pieces are experienced or spectated in as many different ways as there are individuals experiencing them.”

Sunny Cheung, curator for Liverpool Biennale

Dominic Harris uses groundbreaking technology to construct personal interpretations of the natural phenomena which surround us. His love of the natural world, coupled with his fascination for code, offers a surreal and whimsical take on reality, challenging the viewer’s perception of the world around them.

As technology, ever-changing and fascinating, occupies our lives in more intimate ways, Harris captures the sometimes menacing march of the information age, turning it to our advantage in a seamless blending of nature and code. He is part of an innovative community of artists who are pushing the envelope of possibility within the medium and redefining the relationship between technology and art.

Halcyon Gallery, Nov 7th 2019 – feb 16th 2020

Mickey & Minnie: An Interactive Diptych (2018)

The artwork explores an ever-evolving love story between the two protagonists, a romance that has spanned 90 years. Synonymous with Harris’ artworks, the role of the viewer is challenged – with the viewer becoming the antagonist within the scenes. To the frustration of Mickey and Minnie, the viewer acts as a distraction, interrupting their love story by stealing the attention. Ultimately, said viewer becomes the third subject within these living portraitures. This interactive engagement is pivotal to the artwork, with the viewer’s presence and touch acting as the catalyst for unique interactions and character narratives that see Mickey and Minnie break the ‘fourth wall’ of their environment. This separation between the virtual and real worlds is further eroded when the viewer uses their own cell phone to text message the characters, who react on screen by reading the message and responding accordingly.

Image: Code, Electronics, Computer, 4K Touch Display, 3D Camera, Metal

Bloomed Wall: Bloomed (2016), 17th Century (2017) & Contemporary (2017)

Continuing with recreating the natural world through digital means, Harris presents his new series ‘Bloomed’, a study of 20 plants, where the artworks allow themselves to be subtly interacted with by onlookers.

The smallest of movements enliven the flowers, causing them to flourish as observers pass by. The viewer’s contact only increases the activity, with even the lightest of touches having the ability to return the flowers to bud state, or bloom to their fullest extent.

Code, electronics, computer, 4K touch display, 3D sensor, metal

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