It’s the Spanish artist’s first UK solo show
Do objects have languages? It’s probably not a question that you’ve really thought about before (or at all!) but Spanish artist Beatriz Olabarrieta is fascinated by the concept. Born in Bilbao, Olabarrieta’s work explores objects in their environments and is often site-specific, but, unusually for someone who has a Master’s in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art, she’s never had a solo show in Britain. That’s about to change as she brings her inventive work to Sunderland in her exhibition Plot Bunny.
The show’s intention is to explore how language lives both in and around objects, both as what they are and the words and gestures we use to describe and interact with them. Working with writers, the sculptures in the room are designed to shift the architecture of the space inside the NGCA and operate either as furniture or platforms where the writers are transformed into performers. Towards the end of the exhibition in July, the objects in the space will begin to converge and become an ensemble, transforming the apparently disparate works into a unified stage. It’s fascinating work from the young contemporary artist, and a huge step on the way to becoming more recognised in the artistic world.