In Residence: Pipilotti Rist

From summer 2012 through to summer 2013, Pipilotti Rist spent a sabbatical in Somerset. In response to the surrounding landscape, Rist produced an installation now on display in the Farmhouse at Durslade Farm. The piece consists of a film projected in the main living space, sharing close-up shots of interactions with nature. The projection is fractured, screened through fragments of glass found on-site and hung from the ceiling. Large or small, unifying or splintering into a host of different elements, Rist’s installations are expansive, finding in the mind and body the possibility of endless discovery.

‘Many people I met in the little town of Bruton made me laugh so often with their English humour and have fascinated me with their ability to carry this tradition while looking into modernity. The year cleared my mind, body and soul and I am very thankful to everyone who helped me.

The environment was quiet and lively at the same time. I became familiar with this ground, by touching and smelling its dirt, finding a treasure of glass pieces nearby a historical dump, the results of which now occupy the living room of the farmhouse. ‘Mary Down Up’ is an installation with one projection. The coloured glass pieces, shaped in the course of time, hang from the ceiling with copper strings. The activity of the surface of the earth captured in the video, shines light on what has been for a long time buried in the dark underneath it.’

– Pipilotti Rist