Kym Ward
‘‘‘Praxis practice’’’
Takes place at Praxis, Amsterdam
14 April, 28 April 2012

 

“I moved here not so long ago, and I don’t have many friends. What do Dutch people do in their spare time, and how can I get to meet one? I wondered, reclining lazily on the couch in my Atelier. Perhaps the Dutch are a bit like the English? In which case, families will really enjoy spending hours losing each other in humongous DIY stores and getting ratty in the paint aisle. I should hang out there to meet the locals. But that’s a bit creepy, eh? I can hardly just bounce up to strangers and have a chat. That’d weird them out. Perhaps if I looked useful, they would come to me. Hmmm. Useful... I’ve got it. I’ll dress in the Praxis Uniform and look like I’m working there. Well, maybe not the actual uniform, maybe there’s a law against that - but very similar, yes, very similar. That way, people who need help or advice might come and talk to me, and I can give them a hand, at the same time as having a chinwag. It’s possible that some people might actually like me, too. I’m really a direct, straightforward kind of gal, pretending to work at a DIY store in order to win new friends. Sounds like the perfect plan.”


 

 

Images: Kym Ward, Praxis practice, 2012

More about KYM WARD

Kym Ward’s practice is performance based, although she often refers back to a language of sculpture. Her practice deals with the notions of ‘work’, of the body, and with minute actions repeated ad absurdum. The performances often explore the friction between forced repetition and innate creativity. Beginning with everyday situations, she uses a mixture of media at the same time to layer meaning and blur the line between reality and performance. The work itself often relates intimately to its context, yet positions itself disingenuously, calling into question social exchange with a short, nasal, laugh.

Kym Ward (1982, UK) lives and works in Berlin and Rotterdam. She is currently completing an MA Fine Art, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam and received her BA (Hons) Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art, London. She also has an upcoming one month residency at Khoj, New Dehli, India. Recent and forthcoming exhibitions include Let it flow, let it go, Souterrain, Berlin (2012); The Mobility Project, The Meter Room, Coventry (2012); The Museum of Undead Labour, Boutique, Cologne (2011); Glass Crash Feeling, September Gallery Berlin, (2010); Under-Over, FOLD, London (2010); Wunderkammer, Franklin Furnace, New York, US; Eastern Edge Gallery New-Foundland CA & Clarke Gallery, Berlin (2010). Solo exhibitions include Creaming Off, Intervention, Rotterdam (2012) and Pre-formed (with Julia Prezewowsky), Stedefreund Gallery, Berlin (2010).      

www.kymward.com