Houldsworth is pleased to premiere Zoë Walker's Somewhere Special in London. This young Scottish artist designs, builds and inhabits self-contained nirvanas, intended exclusively for the enjoyment of imaginatively idle activities - sunning on a deserted island, walking amongst clouds or floating down a river. She creates environments that are quietly devoid of any hustle and commotion.
Somewhere Special is Walker's portable snow-capped mountain peak, fitting snugly into any sturdy rucksack and easily assembled at any location, no matter how rugged, barren or urban the terrain. It acts as a landmark along a journey. Walker has spent most of the past few years away from home and reliant only upon what can be packed and carried away; as a seasoned traveller, she is aware that part of the attraction of travelling is not only reaching the destination but also in what is passed along the way.
Somewhere Special is one of a group of objects that Walker uses as a prop, interacting directly with it in intricate and elaborate performances. She documents these performances on seamless videos, produced with her long-term collaborator Neil Bromwich, and in still photography, collaborated with Wendy House. Her video pieces and photographic prints, along with the objects themselves, are the result of her ceaseless pursuit of an ideal, isolated sanctuary. Yet Walker is aware that perfection and heaven are personal, private affairs. In Somewhere Special, as well as in her earlier works, she explores an alternative. Walker overcomes the difficulties - searching for the ideal place and recovering from the journey itself- that one must face in realising perfection.
Since completing her MA at Goldsmiths, Zoë Walker has had residencies with the Scottish Arts Council in Canberra, Australia, the Prema Arts Centre, Gloucestershire, and the Pier Art Centre, Orkney. Recent exhibitions include Portable Paradise at the Economist Plaza, London and My Island Home at the Victoria and Albert Museum, with Atelier van Lieshout, which was included in Urban Nomads at the South London Gallery. Walker's work has also been shown in Australia, Ireland, France, Holland and Poland. Current projects include a three-month residency at the Grizedale Sculpture Park and the Fusion Commission, St John's Hospital, Livingston.
