Nick & Sheila Pye
Thaumaturge (Feminine). digital-c print. 2009. 60 by 40 inches. Edition of 5, 2 ap
Thaumaturge (Masculine). digital-c print. 2009. 60 by 40 inches. Edition of 5, 2 ap
The Paper Wall. chromogenic print. 2004. 30 by 40 inches, Edition of 3, 2 ap. 20 by 24 inches, Edition of 3. 1 ap
Untitled series. Chromogenic print. 2004. 20 by 24 inches, Edition of 3. 1 ap
Pale Blue-Grey I. chromogenic print. 2006. 48 by 48 inches, Edition of 5, 2 ap. 20 by 20 inches, Edition of 5. 2 ap
NICK and SHEILA PYE‘s work is a complex set of juxtapositions that illuminates their intimacy (NICHOLAS and SHEILA PYE are a married couple from Canada) and expose the painful parts of romance. Through film, performance, video installations, and photography, they explore what happens when people fall in and out of love.
Their work is heavily informed by performance, their bodies functioning as both media and subject. Their yin-yang qualities are underscored by cinematic mise en scene that divides the two artists physically and thematically.
Acting in their own pieces has had advantages and disadvantages: “people try to commodify the ‘couple’ aspect of our practice, because it’s an easy way to approach the work,” NICHOLAS says. “But we used ourselves simply because it was affordable and we couldn’t convince others to do what we wanted. Viewers assume that the works are about our personal relationship, but we don’t intend our work to be about us.”
comments are closed !