MOST people look towards sleep as a time to switch off from the stresses of daily life, but artist Will Mackrell sees it as prime time to create work. His solo show Touch & Go at William Benington Gallery in Angel opens on February 26 with pieces made as he slept.
Will Mackrell’s Sleep, 2013
Will placed carbon paper sheets under his bed sheets to create two works Sleep -negative- and Sleep -positive-, his every movement that night was captured, resulting in two inky self-portraits.
“I started using everyday materials and I liked the idea of still making work while not in the studio,” he said. “I got A3 sheets of carbon paper joined together with archival tape. I’m curious about restlessness at night, churning through ideas. My body is still thinking and moving – I’m as active as the day. It’s like an X-ray and a fossilised trace of my night’s sleep.”
The results display a hectic maze of mark making – the flimsy material is torn and scratched in places, the imprint of fingertips is obvious.
Will was inspired by Andy Warhol’s 1963 film Sleep in which he filmed close friend John Giorno for five hours and 20 minutes. He is therefore proud to pick up on any cinematic aspects in the work and describes the two positive and negative prints as “long exposures”.
Soprano Stephanie Lloyd will be performing on the opening night, singing Soprano for Sleep Time App, a musical version of Will’s sleep patterns; a piece he describes as a “working diagram”.
Will used an iPad sleep app under his pillow to record his sleep patterns; the data was translated into notation form and a recording will be available to hear during the exhibition.
This isn’t the last of the sleep pieces, Will plans to engage with people who have sleep disorders and create more “fossilised traces”.
“I’ve often struggled with my sleep, it’s quite disrupted and I am curious to know what’s going on,” he said.
“I’m always thinking about not wanting to lose time, I see sleep as much a time of work as day. My interest is not so much the excess of restlessness but trying to find ways to use materials, to have a language with sleep time.”
• Touch & Go runs from February 26-April 2 at William Benington Gallery, 20 Arlington Way, EC1R 1UY. 020 3659 5818, www.williambeningtongallery.co.uk
