Saturday 20th May – Sunday 3rd September 2023
Opening Party: Saturday 20th May 2023, 6pm
East Quay, Harbour Road, Watchet, TA23 0AQ
Internationally-acclaimed artist Nye Thompson returns to the UK to present a ground-breaking new solo exhibition at East Quay in Watchet, Somerset. Vertigo will open our eyes to a new perspective of surveillance, satellites, and new frontier–space. Vertigo will include two major performance projects including the world premiere of a new piece CU Soon and a reprise of the 2019 video installation INSULAE (Of the Island).
Vertigo is an exhibition curated by East Quay’s own George Harwood Smith. East Quay is Somerset’s brand-new cultural arts venue, which was awarded National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status by Arts Council England in November. The space focuses on nurturing creativity and curiosity for all ages.
Nye Thompson is best known for her experimental software architectures, bridging both of her careers – as an artist and software engineer – together. Her work is included in major international institutions including Tate Modern, The Barbican, The Lowry, The V&A, and The Louvre, as well as international and UK private collections.
Nye Thompson has been described by Vogue as “the new Big Brother” and dubbed “a contemporary Jacques Cousteau” by legendary Bob & Roberta Smith. She also received the 2021 Lumen Prize Gold Award for a short film UNINVITED in collaboration with UBERMORGEN, and was recently shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2023.
Nye Thompson continues to push boundaries with this new exhibition. Her unique work bridges the gap between technology and art with her use of Machine Learning/AI, Bespoke Software Architecture, Data Archiving & Mapping in the creation of Film, Drawings, Live Machine Performances and Mixed Media installation.
Vertigo explores different aspects of our relationship with the burgeoning ecosystem of satellites. Though they are hidden machines orbiting far above our heads that we cannot see for ourselves, we are in fact deeply connected to them in our everyday lives.
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