Lockdown Residency
June 2020
Derry, N. ireland
Locky Morris
Locky Morris was born in Derry City, Northern Ireland, where he continues to live and work. Most of his energy and preoccupations are put into a life as an artist working with photography, found objects, installation, text, sound and video, although he is also a musician and songwriter.
Within artwork that has spanned three decades there has been a persistent recurring focus centred around his immediate terrain. His current practice, has for the most part, been marked by a concentration on the familial and the familiar – sourcing a large amount of his material directly from the interstices and interactions of life, ‘..where it seems as if he is trying to establish the border between humanity and the appearance of humanity...’. Often underpinned by humour and sometimes triggered by what he refers to as ‘daily epiphanies’ his assemblages place an emphasis on observation, perceptual manipulation and the physical nature of sound – with the equipment itself playing an integral part. The work which is frequently described in terms of a multi-layered dark poetry, touches on a broad range of subjects, from the highly personal to the public and political.
During the 80s and 90s he became known for producing work that referred and reacted explicitly to the Northern Irish conflict. Some early pieces was shown in the British Art Show touring Britain (1990), and New North (1990) and Strongholds (1991) at the Tate Gallery, Liverpool, while also being exhibited in his local neighbourhood, in places like disused bookmakers, community centres and vacant premises. He maintains this approach with upcoming projects in alternative spaces and continues to exhibit widely with recent solo presentations at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast, Mannheimer Kunstverein, Germany and Mothers Tankstation, Dublin, along with group exhibitions at the Model, Sligo, Tulca festival, Galway, White Box Gallery and Apexart in New York City.
Art Arcadia Lockdown residencies are in partnership with St Augustine’s Heritage Site, kindly funded by Derry City & Strabane District Council.
