Sophie Morrow

Multidisciplinary Australian Artist

01.05.2019  -  31.07.2019

Sophie Morrow (1993) is an artist from Melbourne, Australia, whose multidisciplinary approach focuses on sexual identities, performativity and the language of desire.

Drawing from influences such as Julia Kristeva’s Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art, Roland Barthes’ The Pleasure of the Text, and the literary works of Anais Nin, Morrow explores desire and sexuality through a lens of identity and fluidity.

The performative work of Sophie Calle, particularly the romanticizing of chaos and scandal and pushing of social boundaries, also attracted Morrow. The concept of using one’s own life as a stage for performance has shaped the Morrow’s creation of her alter-ego, both as subject and active participant. It is expressed and documented by the artist by way of video, sound and voice recordings, written works, and aural documentations.

As Morrow states,

Performativity is a central element of my art practice. It motivates my investigation of hidden and fictional narratives of selfhood; observing what is exposed and how our perceptions of ourselves are affected.

Sophie Morrow, Artist’s Statement

 

During her three-month artist residency at SomoS, from May – July 2019, Morrow will be working on an immersive installation of sound, objects, and video involving erotic fiction. An investigation into performativity and sexual desire through queer erotic literature, this installation will present an intimate drama of eroticism in language and performance.


Morrow received a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) Honors from RMIT University, 2017. She has shown her work in exhibitions both locally and internationally, including Yes: A Reflection on Desire, 2018 at SEVENTH Gallery, Melbourne; Arteles Open, 2017, at Arteles Creative Centre, Hämeenkyrö, Finland; ON AIR, 2017 at Landratsamt, Tübingen, Germany; and KTV, 2015 at Sawtooth, Launceston, Tasmania.

Live performances of her works include Carym Dating at Shamoli Restaurant, Edinburgh, Scotland 2017; Pilgrimage, RMIT University with Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2014; Shower II, Ocean Grove waterfront 2014, and How to use a chair at RMIT University Melbourne 2014.

The artist has completed residencies at Kunstort Eleven Art Space in Börstingen, Germany, 2017, and Arteles Creative Center in Haukijärvi, Finland in 2017.

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