Union Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by gallery artist Mike Marshall. The exhibition will feature a new video work by the artist filmed in a remote location in Thailand.
Mike Marshall’s work is often produced in places far from the familiar and urban contexts of contemporary art. Recent work has focused in on people engaged in their daily work: the projectionist of a small town cinema in India, Vietnamese farmers working an olive grove in Cyprus.
Kwan Makes Bread 2013 is a short study of Kwan, a bread maker living in Thailand. Every day from early in the morning until the evening Kwan makes bread for visiting tourists. In a series of short sequences Marshall’s film examines the sensory aspects of Kwan’s daily activities in direct relation to her immediate environment.
A recurrent and notable feature of Marshall’s work is the successive and unexpected change in focus and depth of field. Frequently the camera rests its gaze on the peripheries of the frame - a napkin catching the breeze or a loaf of bread touched by low sunlight. These moments of stillness and contemplation are combined with a consciousness of deft activity - from a machine turning dough to the hypnotic rhythm of Kwan’s practiced hands.
Surrounding sounds also move in and out of range. Machinery, background conversation and the call of birds overlap or exist in tandem with their visual counterparts. These details are key elements of an overarching visual and audio choreography.