In this collaborative exhibition, Katharine Paisley and Phil Keers join together to explore concepts of control and reality.
The exhibition consists of painting, sculpture, installation, film, text and audio works.
The title, ‘Control Room’, reflects how the audience will experience the works: in some works they can control how they engage, in some they can only exercise their influence and in other works they will be completely outside both control and reality.
The work will be shown throughout NI Mental Health Arts Festival (9th to 15th May) in partnership with Platform Arts
Opening 6 May 6:00–-9:00pm
Runs 7–28 May 2022
Wed–Sat 11:00am – 4:00pm
Katharine Paisley (b. 1996) is an interdisciplinary Visual Artist from Co. Tyrone, who lives and works in Belfast. She is based at Flax Art Studios, Belfast. Katharine graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2018 with a BA Hons in Fine Art. She works as a Gallery Assistant at The Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast and as an Outreach Artist. She is currently a British Council Venice Research Fellow 2022 and a committee member of Flax Emerging Artist Project Space.
Paisley primarily works in painting; however, she experiments with the addition of audio and video works- exploring how painting can exist beyond a 2D image. Katharine’s practice explores our human made world and the consequences of this. Within her work she explores themes that demand urgency, and which highlight a lack of control. Her work has been shown in multiple group and solo shows nationally; and included in multiple publications. She has also been awarded funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Phil Keers (b. 1994) is Visual Artist living and working in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is based in Flax Art Studios and is a committee member of Flax Emerging Artist – Project Space. Phil graduated from Ulster University Belfast with a Ba Hons in Fine Art in 2018. The following academic year he had a year-long residency within the Fine Art course at Belfast School of Art. His practice considers conceptual themes, investigating gender, sexuality, human emotion, and religion – with the common theme of promoting mental health awareness, at its core.
His work is multidisciplinary, mainly taking the form of sculpture, performance and installation art and has exhibited both nationally and internationally – namely Rebel Live Action performance art festival in Bangkok, Thailand and The Northern Ireland Office exhibition Portrait of Northern Ireland: neither and elegy nor a manifesto at The Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast. Keers is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland; including SIAP travel award.
Further information: www.platformartsbelfast.com