Nike Savvas | ’17 Seconds’
Presenting her first solo show at Dominik Mersch this October, Nike Savvas continues to push her work in new directions as she explores the process behind remembering in her latest geometric works.
Inspiration for the work came from Savvas reading The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. A response to oppressive times, and about the longing for a new order amongst the chaos, the book explores the interconnectivity of everything in life. As well as an individual’s search for authenticity.
Exploring the interconnectivity of memory and how it is collated, 17 Seconds draws from an experience by Savvas, who had a thought for 17 seconds, which she then remembered and recorded the thought.
Examining the networks of thought and association in this process, Savvas explains, “The process of remembering leads to a scenario of association perhaps best described as a perceptual collaging of fragments from memory. In this, not all information is recalled and often some parts remain omitted. This is drawn from a notion of chance – where a work results from the conflation of ones imagination, chance thoughts and memory. The process is left open, is often automatic and pre-empts the creation of new work and new meanings. The work in this show continues my interest in mental imaging, perceptual phenomena and the creative process”.
An exhibition that developed since her residency in Paris earlier this year, it showcases new works using different colour palettes, media and formats. The centrepiece is a freestanding geometric large-scale installation. As intriguing as it’s patterns are entrancing, ’17 Seconds’ promises to be both visually arresting and mentally engaging – and longer than 17 seconds we hope.
EXHIBITION
Nike Savvas | ’17 Seconds’
6 October – 29 October
Dominik Mersch Gallery
Courtesy the artist and Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney.


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