'Bye Bye Brazil': Sarah Morris' exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey
British artist Sarah Morris makes films and paintings about cities. With her lens, she negotiates access into areas most of us can't (Beijing's Olympic venues before the games, the red carpet in Los Angeles, the White House when Bill Clinton was in residency) and records life via subtle camera angles and snippy editing. Inspired by her findings, she creates colourful, abstract canvases in household paint of each city in parallel.
Her latest body of work, entitled Bye Bye Brazil, is on show at the White Cube gallery in Bermondsey. Carnival, modernist architecture, beaches and Brahma beer are the subjects of her 11th film 'Rio'. Familiar subjects all, but Morris' quirky detailing and the jarringly hypnotic soundtrack by fellow artist Liam Gillick, give them a fresh spin.
Morris interviewed Niemeyer at his office before he died. There's a shot of his wheelchair in the hallway, and though we see him speak, his words are drowned out by the music. His architecture, and the way people operate within it form the backbone to the film. There's a painter touching up the ceiling of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi, and the ebullient 'Winner's Parade' in his Sambadrome carnival stadium. It's long for an art film (88 minutes) and Morris spent many months in Rio exploring the psychology of the mega city.
Niemeyer's geometric and architectural lines are also present in the canvases. Morris calls them 'diagrams' and cites Bossa Nova album covers, Roberto Burle Marx and Lina Bo Bardi as additional inspirations.
The public spaces in Bye Bye Brazil may still only be known by relatively few, but with Brazil firmly on the radar for the Olympics and the World Cup next year, they will soon be familiar to every household. And with a new White Cube up and running in Sao Paulo, Morris' current body of work is a neat tie-in. Although the exhibition won't be shown in Sao Paulo, the film will be screened in Rio on 3 September to coincide with Art Rio 13.
Carnival, Niemeyer, modernist architecture, beaches and Brahma beer are the subjects of Morris' 11th film 'Rio'. Familiar subjects all, but Morris's quirky detailing and the jarringly hypnotic soundtrack by fellow artist Liam Gillick, give them a fresh spin. Watch a teaser of the film here
ADDRESS
144 – 152 Bermondsey Street
London SE1 3TQ
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Emma O'Kelly is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. She joined the magazine on issue 4 as news editor and since since then has worked in full and part time roles across many editorial departments. She is a freelance journalist based in London and works for a range of titles from Condé Nast Traveller to The Telegraph. She is currently working on a book about Scandinavian sauna culture and is renovating a mid century house in the Italian Lakes.
-
Remembering Richard Serra (1938-2024), American art’s man of steel
American artist Richard Serra, whose vast sculptures transformed landscapes around the world, has died aged 85
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Corfu hotel Domes Miramare redefines beachfront bliss
Make like Jackie O at Corfu hotel Domes Miramare, a property with contemporary luxury and echoes of 1960s glamour in spades
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Sinta Tantra’s sculptures find a historic home at Pitzhanger Manor, UK
Sinta Tantra’s ‘The Light Club of Batavia’ exhibition at Pitzhanger Manor unites her large and small-scale works and explores the duality of beauty and colonialism
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Jonathan Baldock’s playful works bring joy to Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Jonathan Baldock mischievously considers history and myths in ‘Touch Wood’ at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
By Anne Soward Published
-
Kerry James Marshall donates first portrait, of Skip Gates, to Fitzwilliam Museum, UK
Kerry James Marshall's portrait of the literary critic, writer and filmmaker is his first of a real, rather than an imagined, sitter
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Turner Prize 2023 exhibition unwrapped: inside Towner Eastbourne
The Turner Prize 2023 exhibition has opened inside the colourful Towner Eastbourne; delve into the work of the four nominees
By Malaika Byng Published
-
Madelon Vriesendorp’s ‘sculptural interventions and playful ideas’ at The Cosmic House
A Madelon Vriesendorp exhibition opens at The Cosmic House in London, surprising and delighting visitors with its ‘sculptural interventions and playful ideas‘
By Will Jennings Published
-
The best London art exhibitions to see now
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Liverpool Biennial 2023 explores the legacy of slavery
The Liverpool Biennial 2023, ‘uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things’, seeks a sense of healing as it explores the legacy of slavery in the city
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
‘A temple of love’: Joana Vasconcelos unveils colossal wedding cake sculpture
At Waddesdon Manor, UK, Joana Vasconcelos unveils her ‘impossible project’ Wedding Cake – part sculpture, part architectural garden folly, part pâtisserie
By Daniel Scheffler Published