Empirical Nonsense

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TESSA HUGHES-FREELAND

Other Wise is a single channel version of a multiple projection piece comprised of three films: Mooncatcher, Secret Message and Natural History. Inspired by a dream it reflects on the sentiment of loss. Working with film material directly, by combining a hand made Secret Message film, slides made from found plants and animals, and original ethereal imagery it considers abstract concepts within a romantic framework to create a visual poem. 

Tessa Hughes-Freeland works in a variety of formats and mediums, and her films have been shown in diverse venues, ranging from internationally prominent museums to seedy bars in gritty neighborhoods. Her work is best described as "confrontational, transgressive, provocative and poetic". Her films have screened internationally in North America, Europe and Australia and in prominent museums and galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum of American Art,[1] the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York,[ and the KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin. In 2018 a program of her films was included in the “No–Wave, Transgression” Film Series at MoMA.  In November 2019 she had a solo exhibition at Howl Happening in and in January 2020 was the featured artist for “Body as Playground: Body as Battleground” exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden. Five of her films are also included in an exhibition touring through museums in Asia.