Wake Up and Hide has developed from Slow Life – a five-screen video installation which was also commissioned by Matt’s Gallery in 2003.
This time, the slow relentless action, impervious to the spectators, has been replaced by fitful unstable images that seem uncomfortable with the thought of being seen. There is a symbiosis between the image and the performer; the action on screen is disturbed by the presence of the spectator in the gallery space.
Commissioned by Matt’s Gallery, Stevens’ video work, Wake Up and Hide, was presented at the gallery in London between January and March 2007 and then at Fierce, Birmingham, throughout May and June. It was then shown at Southampton City Art Gallery from September – December 2007.
Sound: Graeme Miller, interactive design and technology: Nic Sandiland, art direction: Georgina Carless, lighting and camera: David Gopsill. Performed by: Heather Ackroyd, Ian Bourn, Helena Bryant, Frog Morris, Fiona Templeton, Gareth Brierley, Antonia Doggett, Michelle Griffiths, Kate Meynell, Gary Stevens.
Wake Up and Hide was commissioned by and first shown at Matt’s Gallery, in association with Artsadmin. Funded by Arts Council England, the Henry Moore and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.