Hannah Morgan - Stand F09
For our debut at Frieze London we are pleased to announce a solo presentation of all new works by Hannah Morgan in the Focus section. Find us at stand F09. All enquiries to [email protected].
Morgan investigates the convergence of mediaeval and speculative creatures with industrial spaces of alabaster mines in the UK. ‘Animula’ is a series on underland entanglements related to heritage, myth, loss and birth. The exhibition presents carvings, steelwork, pewter casts, grogged clay, video and soundscape to immerse visitors in the undulating landscape on booth. The vastness and unseen nature of excavation explores relationships of matter, and organism, mourning and primal response. Working with active mining sites, this iteration of Animula looks at the role of descending underground as a transforming act. Hand carved, generative alabaster carvings morph and change in the space as a material reminiscent of monuments. The inanimate becomes animate, flickers of movement and mythical energy pulsates on the surface. Hanging stone ‘oculars’ serve as openings to other realms, intervening with light on the booth. Vocal recordings envelop and reflect off the work, while a portal into descent is experienced from a metal ‘tunnel’, reflective maps and curious video screens within the space. Carved and potted creatures in various states of emergence will be placed around these pathways, exhibiting amorphous, shape-shifting elemental forms; acting as a tether to life itself.
Through her exploration of industrial landscapes, identity, transformation, and feminist perspectives, Morgan creates a compelling body of work that not only pays homage to the legacy of female sculptors before her, but also advances contemporary dialogues on these critical issues. Her innovative use of materials and immersive installations provide a fresh perspective on the interconnectedness of humanity and the environment. Morgan’s work positions itself as a vital voice in the ongoing conversation about art’s role in societal and environmental transformation.
Morgan’s work, particularly her use of active gypsum sites, underscores the transformative act of descending underground, bringing attention to the often unseen and undervalued industrial landscapes. By turning raw materials like alabaster into evocative, animate forms, Morgan echoes a belief in the profound connection between the natural world and human creativity. Her generative carving practice began at the coinciding birth of her first child and the loss of her late father, drawing on the complexities of personal and collective identities; the work addresses the precarity of self and agency within the natural world as a mother, highlighting transformative states of being and art as a liberating force.
Hannah Morgan’s exploration of life and death, and the importance of memorials and monuments, directly resonates with an advocacy for life. The use of alabaster, a material traditionally associated with monuments and memorials, serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility and transience of life. Hand-carved alabaster pieces, which morph and change in their environment, evoke a sense of the inanimate becoming animate. This transformation highlights the cyclical nature of life and death, a theme central to her work and which serves as a reminder for the fragility of mankind and the need for pacifism.
Morgan’s ability to transform spaces and materials into narrative-rich environments creates a powerful commentary on the relationship between humanity, our interventions and the natural world. This approach promotes a belief that art can catalyse societal change, making Morgan’s work highly relevant in today’s context of environmental and social concerns.
Hannah Morgan (b. United Kingdom 1985) is a multimedia artist living and working in London.
A London based artist graduating from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2022. Hannah Morgan received the Adrian Carruthers Award 22/23 in partnership with ACME and Prankerd Jones Memorial Prize for excellence in Fine Art at the Slade.
Hannah Morgan’s work is sculptural installation. Combining film, audio, sculpture, and text to create material components that consider decay and emergence. Thresholds, unearthing, preservation, trace, and speculation underpin their practice. Morgan creates narratives through sculptural assemblage and text/audio that consider loss and transformative states of being that address the precarity of self, object and the natural world.
Frieze.com Feature
Hannah Morgan describes English Alabaster as ‘a beautiful and intriguing stone’. It ‘sucks up the mineral elements of the earth around it’, resulting in “reddy-brown” tones with beguiling veins and seams. She uses the material to carve out ‘creatures’ in gestation, emergence and decay, reflecting on what she terms as "underland" entanglements related to myth, natural ecologies, mourning and birth.
The resultant works are then staged in interdisciplinary installations with metal frameworks, hanging glass ‘oculars’ in a sensory environment punctuated with flickering video and sound work — the choral works made in collaboration with Clay Slade.
In this video, Morgan speaks to us from her London Fields studio, introducing us to her ‘Animula’ series in progress for her Frieze London Focus debut, presented by Xxira Hii. The artist also takes us to one of her sites of discovery, The Warburg Institute — an art historical collection which is categorised thematically, that Morgan suggests is inspirational as ‘you get an open-ended way of researching — which is joyful.’
Hannah Morgan - Stand F09
For our debut at Frieze London we are pleased to announce a solo presentation of all new works by Hannah Morgan in the Focus section. Find us at stand F09. All enquiries to [email protected].
Morgan investigates the convergence of mediaeval and speculative creatures with industrial spaces of alabaster mines in the UK. ‘Animula’ is a series on underland entanglements related to heritage, myth, loss and birth. The exhibition presents carvings, steelwork, pewter casts, grogged clay, video and soundscape to immerse visitors in the undulating landscape on booth. The vastness and unseen nature of excavation explores relationships of matter, and organism, mourning and primal response. Working with active mining sites, this iteration of Animula looks at the role of descending underground as a transforming act. Hand carved, generative alabaster carvings morph and change in the space as a material reminiscent of monuments. The inanimate becomes animate, flickers of movement and mythical energy pulsates on the surface. Hanging stone ‘oculars’ serve as openings to other realms, intervening with light on the booth. Vocal recordings envelop and reflect off the work, while a portal into descent is experienced from a metal ‘tunnel’, reflective maps and curious video screens within the space. Carved and potted creatures in various states of emergence will be placed around these pathways, exhibiting amorphous, shape-shifting elemental forms; acting as a tether to life itself.
Through her exploration of industrial landscapes, identity, transformation, and feminist perspectives, Morgan creates a compelling body of work that not only pays homage to the legacy of female sculptors before her, but also advances contemporary dialogues on these critical issues. Her innovative use of materials and immersive installations provide a fresh perspective on the interconnectedness of humanity and the environment. Morgan’s work positions itself as a vital voice in the ongoing conversation about art’s role in societal and environmental transformation.
Morgan’s work, particularly her use of active gypsum sites, underscores the transformative act of descending underground, bringing attention to the often unseen and undervalued industrial landscapes. By turning raw materials like alabaster into evocative, animate forms, Morgan echoes a belief in the profound connection between the natural world and human creativity. Her generative carving practice began at the coinciding birth of her first child and the loss of her late father, drawing on the complexities of personal and collective identities; the work addresses the precarity of self and agency within the natural world as a mother, highlighting transformative states of being and art as a liberating force.
Hannah Morgan’s exploration of life and death, and the importance of memorials and monuments, directly resonates with an advocacy for life. The use of alabaster, a material traditionally associated with monuments and memorials, serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility and transience of life. Hand-carved alabaster pieces, which morph and change in their environment, evoke a sense of the inanimate becoming animate. This transformation highlights the cyclical nature of life and death, a theme central to her work and which serves as a reminder for the fragility of mankind and the need for pacifism.
Morgan’s ability to transform spaces and materials into narrative-rich environments creates a powerful commentary on the relationship between humanity, our interventions and the natural world. This approach promotes a belief that art can catalyse societal change, making Morgan’s work highly relevant in today’s context of environmental and social concerns.
Hannah Morgan (b. United Kingdom 1985) is a multimedia artist living and working in London.
A London based artist graduating from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2022. Hannah Morgan received the Adrian Carruthers Award 22/23 in partnership with ACME and Prankerd Jones Memorial Prize for excellence in Fine Art at the Slade.
Hannah Morgan’s work is sculptural installation. Combining film, audio, sculpture, and text to create material components that consider decay and emergence. Thresholds, unearthing, preservation, trace, and speculation underpin their practice. Morgan creates narratives through sculptural assemblage and text/audio that consider loss and transformative states of being that address the precarity of self, object and the natural world.
Frieze.com Feature
Hannah Morgan describes English Alabaster as ‘a beautiful and intriguing stone’. It ‘sucks up the mineral elements of the earth around it’, resulting in “reddy-brown” tones with beguiling veins and seams. She uses the material to carve out ‘creatures’ in gestation, emergence and decay, reflecting on what she terms as "underland" entanglements related to myth, natural ecologies, mourning and birth.
The resultant works are then staged in interdisciplinary installations with metal frameworks, hanging glass ‘oculars’ in a sensory environment punctuated with flickering video and sound work — the choral works made in collaboration with Clay Slade.
In this video, Morgan speaks to us from her London Fields studio, introducing us to her ‘Animula’ series in progress for her Frieze London Focus debut, presented by Xxira Hii. The artist also takes us to one of her sites of discovery, The Warburg Institute — an art historical collection which is categorised thematically, that Morgan suggests is inspirational as ‘you get an open-ended way of researching — which is joyful.’
Xxijra Hii
Enclave 4
50 Resolution Way,
London SE8 4AL
Xxijra Hii is a member of New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) and the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC).
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