'prost': common, every day, mundane, but within which lies the divine.

—

On my studio wall I keep an evolving list of words – these are pairs of corresponding forces like:

Chaos / Order
Intuition / Superstition
Nihilism / Faith
Truth / Illusion

These are metaphysical forces, hidden determinants that have a powerful influence, whether we're conscious of them or not. The sway of Chaos over Order in your life for example, will have a profound effect on you whether you actively contemplate it or not.

I’ve taken these words and embroidered them onto socks.

It’s a way to remind myself that these ideas aren't just esoteric fancies we might consider in a philosophical moment, to remember that they're embedded in the everyday, in the fabric of the mundane and that the extraordinary exists within the ordinary.

What changes when we properly pay attention to this idea, when we look at how these contestable, ethereal forces are integrated into our ordinary lives?

What happens if we consciously change the balance in our lives between say Chaos and Order or Nihilism and Faith? We might invite more Chaos in as a cure for boredom perhaps or more Order to feel safe, or we may come to terms with the idea that they can't exist without each other.

Ostensibly I've made a functional, common object with a pair of words embroidered on it, but potentially it's a way to broaden our metaphysical peripheral vision.

I've given pairs of these socks to a dozen elite physical performers including Dana Fouras, former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Harris Bell, current rising star of the Royal Ballet and Tatiana Ozhigonova, the aerial gymnast from Moscow State Circus.

I asked that they create a movement wearing them, based on their feet, ankles and calves and we film it, as simple or complex as they like. Some asked I propose the movement and film it, some wanted an even collaboration and some took control themselves.

I wanted a way of making something collectively that invigorates the power that lies in the simplest things, to encourage us to recognise that the things we see and use everyday, the things we take for granted, looked at from another angle shifted by only a few degrees, can hold the esoteric, the divine.

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All films exhibited from 26th April - 12 May 2024 at Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner