-
Current Exhibition
Zissou (2023) -
In the Pipeline
Opening: Wednesday 31 May, 6-8pm at 46 Penton St N1 9QAUncover, 2023
Pipeline is pleased to present a solo exhibition by photographer William Waterworth. Interested in an inherent, abstract beauty and the powerful role photography has in shaping that, Waterworth’s pictures highlight the fundamental nature of how we look at others and what it is to feel seen. They tell stories of the importance of place and people, ancient landscapes and timeless subjects. Occupying the entire gallery space, his solo exhibition Ein Tir, which translates to ‘Our Land’ in Welsh, chronicles new series and key pivotal works. In the end room of the gallery, a feverish display of collage and writing gives context to Waterworth’s recent body of work. Included is a pilgrimage to Julia Margaret Cameron’s home on the Isle of Wight, the story of Zissou and the flying machine, and the journey a carpenter makes to the Alps inspired by Thomas Mann’s novel ‘The Magic Mountain’ (1924). These expeditions are brought to life with a range of reference material by contributing artists, including video work by Joel Kerr and costumes designed by Edie Ashley installed on the lower ground floor.
Presented in the main gallery are carefully constructed images that are most precious to the artist and which pull together the different corners of his practice. Although often unassuming, his subjects always possess something extraordinary. In recent work, Waterworth follows the characters that fascinate him, locating them in their environments and uniting people and place. At the forefront of the exhibition is a unique handmade book of 100 prints, inspired by Guy Bourdin book of images ‘Untouched’ (2017) and presented on a lectern made by Arthur Poujois. The book is the root of the exhibition and an indicator for Waterworth's use of photography as a medium. Central to his practice and submerged throughout, is a quest for stories and the places where they are created which allow them to unravel.
William Waterworth (b.1996, Macclesfield, UK), lives and works in London. He studied History of Art at Manchester University. Inspired by a seminar on the American photographer Sally Mann, he left to study photography in Paris where he was awarded the Prix Picto de la Photographie de Mode. Following his studies, Waterworth assisted Swiss photographer Michel Comte in Austria. He has worked for brands such as Alexander McQueen, Erdem and John Skelton. Waterworth had his first solo exhibition at Burleigh Street Townhouse, London (2019). His work has been published by Vogue, Acne Paper, AnOther, D Republica, Dazed.
Uncover, 2023
Oil on linen
128 x 75 x 70 cm
Ahead of his debut solo exhibition at Pipeline, Leon Scott-Engel presents Uncover, a painting which embodies central ideas in his work. For the first time ‘the Pipeline’, which regularly features one work by an artist in advance of their exhibition, is taking place in an offsite location at 46 Penton St.
Uncover will be exhibited and viewable from the street from 1 June up until the opening of Scott-Engel's solo exhibition at Pipeline on 21 June. It can also be visted by appointment, please contact the gallery to arrange.
Scott-Engel’s practice reflects on common associations with masculinity that involve a physical and emotional hardening. In an attempt to combat these displays of power, he invites a softness and generosity to his work in both form and subject. Tender paintings reference romance and self-image that reflect the soft structures they are painted on. By enabling his paintings to be physically activated when in the presence of a viewer, Scott-Engel gives his work a sensitivity to their surroundings and creates a relationship between painting and sculpture, person and object.
Disregarding the rigidity of traditional painting frames, Scott-Engel’s process begins with the structure of the painting itself. His curved canvases take on a figuration, bending inward and outward and enveloping the viewer. They coil and shield, like a protective arm or a lap to lie on. Scott-Engel enters his paintings into a three dimensional space by laying them like mattresses on the ground or using them to wrap and bandage corners. In doing so, the paintings soften the very edges of the gallery itself.
Uncover is a new work by Scott-Engel in which he further explores the suggestion of a mattress, recalling artists such as Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas who have previously considered the bed as a place that cradles our most fragile moments. A mattress is an object stained with intimate history, a place where we start our day and return to. It is where we are both alone and together, where we yield a part of our personal space to another and shed any hard exterior. For Scott-Engel, Uncover is the springboard for the works in his upcoming exhibition, a place where the hyper-masculine subsides and gives way to the overall expression in his work.
Leon Scott-Engel (b.1999, London, UK) lives and works in London. He completed his BA at Glasgow School of Art in 2022 and was awarded the Richard Ford Award and Research Residency at the Museo Del Prado, Madrid. Scott-Engel’s work has been included in a number of group shows including The Split Gallery, London (2023); Liliya Art Gallery, London (2023); Warbling, London (2022); Black White Gallery, London (2022); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (2022) and D Contemporary, London (2022).
Scott-Engel’s upcoming exhibition at Pipeline will open 21 June, 2023 and will mark the artist's first solo exhibition.
35 Eastcastle St
London W1W 8DW
United Kingdom
+44 7724145648
This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.