About this exhibition
The work of Theo Cowley reflects on the underlying mechanisms of theatre and other cultural forms. Interested in a wide variety of physical, visual and textual languages from vastly different backgrounds his practice encompasses film, video, drawing, sculpture, performance and artist books. In his films and videos he often collaborates with highly specific performers. The Wiels project room presents a new work, developed over several years, a 16mm film with a Noh theatre actor from Kyoto, Japan. Noh theatre is a traditional Japanese drama that has been performed since the 14th century. In Cowley's film the actor becomes a vehicle for an investigation into the basic elements of a highly codified movement.