Shelta Sings Wrapped in the Arms of Wilaye Fynd • Chris Harris.

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Join us Friday December 3rd, for the Opening Reception for "Shelta Sings Wrapped in the Arms of Wilaye Fynd" by Chris Harris. 7-9pm at the Fardom Gallery.

Fardom Gallery is pleased to announce our second solo-exhibition of new works by Chris Harris. The artist’s latest body of work, Shelta Sings Wrapped in the Arms of Wilaye Fynd, centers around the theme of home and the kinetic instincts that crystallize into its parts. His work here begins with the act of “performing” within simple constructions while using photography to begin a process of building. The creative process is then extended and inverted by designing and building structures to house the actions. Inversion is a constant presence in his work as he sees it as essential to growth and therefore essential to life. For instance the title itself refers to two personified directionally different ideas, Shelta (shelter) and Wilaye Fynd (will I find?), which are brought together by acting contradictory to their nature.

Along one wall is a series of large black-and-white prints, titled Partners, housed in deep shadow boxes with legs that allow them to sit on the ground while holding the image at eye level. They lean stoically against the wall but the handles under the frame seem to be inviting you to dance. The images too seem to alternate between dark and playful. All of the still photographs in the exhibit are prints from a single negative but the video portrait, 1000, is built from a group of photographs that are digitally made to undulate over top one another. Included in the show, as a counter point to the images of himself, is a leather bound book of color photos Harris took of various people in his life, be they friends, family members, lovers or briefly encountered strangers, all shot with a 6x6 medium format camera and cropped to an image that is 9x10inches, an aspect ratio that sits heavily on the eye. The title of the series, I Will Take All of You With Me, is intended to be as much of a memento mori as it is a call to those around him to join him in life. It’s that “art is life plus death” notion that guides much of Harris’ work. While evocative of both the dark sensuality of Mark Morrisroe and the roving sun-soaked sweetness of Jack Pierson’s photography, Harris here seems to be attempting to resolve something very personal. He will continue this particular series until he no longer can.

Chris Harris (b. 1982, Portland, Maine) currently lives and works in New York City. He has a background in dance, theater, painting and clothing construction. Fardom Gallery, part of The Space collective, is dedicated to maintaining and expanding the artistic community in the Long Island City, Queens area. The Space takes advantage of previously underutilized property in Long Island City, New York, to provide work space for artists, and a venue for community involvement in the arts, and works with developers and planners to ensure that there are affordable places for artists to live and work in Long Island City as our neighborhood develops and grows.

For further information about the artist contact Kristin Reger at 773.396.8812 or via email at kristinreger@gmail.com
For further information about the gallery contact Kristy Schopper at 718.752.0331 or via email at kristy@licspace.org