Outpouring of deep emotion in art show GUSH

GUSH is a candid and personal exploration of mental and emotional health in our world today, and is Perry’s first major solo exhibition in the UK outside London, following the launch of GUSH at Somerset House.

Central to the exhibition is an immersive 360 degree film that surrounds viewers with the contorted, continuously shifting movement of bodies. With a soundtrack combining spoken word, an instrumental score written in collaboration with composers Mica Levy and Coby Sey, and the London Contemporary Orchestra, the film reflects on the altered states of the self, including the impact of trauma and grief on physical and mental wellbeing.

In an intense exploration of the experience of romance, psychosis and loss, the installation marks the first time Perry has addressed the tragic recent suicide of her best friend and collaborator.

Other works in the exhibition extend Perry’s interest in car modification, including a pulsating large-scale audio sculpture – which is reimagined to occupy Towner’s expansive gallery spaces - incorporating stretched car body wrap and subwoofer speakers, enabling sound frequencies to create distorted patterns upon the mirrored surface of the sculpture, altering the viewer’s reflected self and surroundings.

On Saturday November 10, for the launch of the exhibition, Towner presents a newly commissioned performance, devised and choreographed by Hannah Perry. Working with London Contemporary Orchestra and music producer Coby Sey, four dancers explore the body’s endurance capabilities, struggles, rhythms and repetitions.