Overview

The exhibition is anchored by abstract structures, both wall hung and tabletop constructions. These enigmatic artworks range in scale from the intimate to the monumental and tease viewers with their gravity-defying appearance. They tumble upon themselves, and suggest a moment frozen in time. The artist revels in this sense of illusion, indeed his practice has always engaged with unsettling the preconception of viewers.

Using high quality lasers and mirrors, Prime’s previous exhibitions incorporated light installations or, as he calls them, three-dimensional drawings in space. At the level of form, play.pause.rewind has grown out of these light-based works: in a sense, he has made physical, lasting, entities from the memory of those earlier, ephemeral, works. At a conceptual level, the present exhibition recalls the period in which the artist was a professional musician. Rhythm, repetition, synchronised patterns; all the elements associated with music-making exist also at the heart of play. pause. rewind.

The individual structures in this exhibition are made of multiple forms, each constituting handfuls of thin rods (some aluminium, some brass) that have been assembled painstakingly by filing the sections smooth and joining them at angles using tiny handmade rivets. Prime often repeats the pattern of forms in a particular structure, but once tipped onto a differing plane a complex network of asymmetric geometries is created. Moving around each work results in new shapes being revealed to the viewer. Reflective surfaces used frequently by the artist open up mirrored vistas that complicate and enrich the viewing experience.  In addition to these structures, the exhibition will also incorporate photographic works that use, as content, older light installations. Here, mysterious, abstract imagery employing light and shade, and sometimes pops of colour, provide context to the physical objects in the show.

Prime moved to India a decade ago and, since then, has made Mumbai his home. Over this time he has had a solo exhibition at Nature Morte, Berlin, as well as displaying in group contexts. He is also recognised as the leading exhibition designer in the region, responsible for many of the most prominent art shows staged in recent times.