(No)body

(No)body echoes the spirit of Justene Williams’ performances, which in turn channel the provocative live events staged by the Dadaists and Futurists in the early 20th century. In her performances, Williams synthesises elements of theatre, dance, sound and painting to create extraordinary zones of visual excess. The composition of (No)body is derived from props that the artist salvaged from previous works, which have been used to create a type of photographic image known as a photogram. Usually, this involves placing objects directly onto photographic paper, then exposing the arrangement to light. However, here Williams has also placed objects within the bellows of the darkroom enlarger, allowing her to construct a collage-like image of great complexity, which she has dubbed a ‘bellowgram’. A disorienting riot of colours, textures and image fragments, (No)body is full of energy, even though the figure at its centre is anonymous and inanimate.