Removed from the Eyes of Strangers
Copenhagen, Denmark

21 November - 12 December 2009
Co-Lab.
, Copenhagen, Denmark

Rachel Goodyear, Matt Lippiatt, Wendy Mayer, Pete Smith, Clara Ursitti

Removed from the Eyes of Strangers brings the work of five emerging British artists to Co-Lab., an independent platform for international contemporary art located in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is the second leg of the touring exhibition, following a successful opening at Galleri Andersson/Sandström in Umeå, northern Sweden, before the exhibition returns to Vyner Street in London.

The participating artists have been selected by Matt Roberts Arts in response to an ongoing interest in the work of Sigmund Freud, and have used their research into Freud’s essay ‘Das Unheimlich’ to inspire a new body of work for this international touring exhibition.

Freud used the term ‘unheimlich’ to explain the phenomenon that occurs when ideas and feelings from childhood which have been repressed are suddenly re-awakened, and the familiar becomes ‘unheimlich’ or uncanny. The artists in Removed from the Eyes of Strangers subtly alter domestic objects to reveal how we can still be terrorised by the slightest shift in our perceptions.

Rachel Goodyear’s soft hand-drawn visions of figures, inanimate objects and violent images of animals create an unfamiliar landscape forcing the viewer to readdress their own experience of suburban life.
Matt Lippiatt’s video 'Nightcruising' (2009) is a collaboration with pornographer Liam Cole. Matt has re-edited video clips from a porn scene shot at night in London's Hampstead Heath, manipulating the sound and speed of the footage to foreground the ominous character of the nocturnal woodland setting and the ambiguous activities taking place.
Wendy Mayer’s work centres around the evolution of the self. Exploring perceptions of the ageing process to embrace her interest in the uncanny, she utilises dolls and figurines to project images of herself that represents various stages of her evolving psyche.
Pete Smith’s human forms mechanically mimic the shadowy patterns of everyday rituals grown from memories of his childhood and his experience of working in menial roles or on factory floors.
Clara Ursitti continues her work on the 'Dolphin Girl' collection, a project that questions what it means to be a human animal, and how our senses figure in this. Combining visual and non-visual senses, she creates meaning and experience for those encountering a work of art.

Click here to download the Removed from the Eyes of Strangers evaluation report.

Top: Rachel Goodyear, 'Dog Digging,' 2008 (courtesy of the artist and The International 3)
Bottom: Pete Smith, 'Bedsitter part I', 2009
Menu image: Pete Smith, 'Bedsitter part II', 2009
© Matt Roberts Arts 2010