Catalogue > At random

Passing Place (2009) is set at a remote crossroads in the North East of England. Scenes from six feature films, where significant moments occur at crossroads, are re-enacted by local people who live or work nearby and know the location well. Re-visited excerpts from Oedipus Rex, (Paolo Pasolini, 1967); Down By Law, (Jim Jarmusch 1986); Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967); Castaway, (Robert Zemeckis 2000); Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, (Maya Deren, 1985) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, (Luis Buñuel, 1972) show people hiding from the law, getting shot, killing members of their own family, performing voodoo rituals; all in this one location. Crossroads are traditionally where life-changing decisions are made. Seen as unhallowed ground in most Western cultures, they represent a threshold between the worlds of the real and the imaginary, the living and the dead. Although familiar with the location, participants in Passing Place have a fragile relationship with the unrehearsed parts they are asked to play. The film exposes non-professional actors in the process of adopting roles, relating to the stories of others, intuitively presenting their own version of events.

Nicky Coutts (b. 1968) works primarily with film, video and photography, but also with sculpture and installation. Her work often contains elements of collage, or the reuse of materials such as film clips, paintings and photographs. Her work has been shown widely in the UK and internationally. She was awarded a six-month scholarship at Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral April-Oct 2010. Her work was also shown during 2010 at Ha Gamle Prestegard, Havegen, Naerbo, Norway; Doris, Stedefreund, Berlin; Es War Einmal Ein Papegei?, Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral, Germany and Multichannel, Artsway, UK. The solo show Millions Like Us at Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art, London (Nov 5th- Dec 19th 2010) features film works and photographs made over the past 2 years. Her work often engages with the complicated perceptions one culture might have of another. ?A Tower in the Minds of Others?, commissioned for Tatton Park Biennial (2008), was a stack of three English garden sheds reminiscent of a pagoda, overlooking the Japanese Garden. In 2011 she returns to Japan for a 3 month residency to make a film at Youkobo Artspace, Tokyo. Coutts has an MA from Chelsea College of Art and a Phd from the Royal College of Art, London. www.nickycoutts.com