Alys Williams's Wildebeest

This week is your last chance to see Wildebeest by the multi-media artist Alys Williams – a deeply affecting collection of sculptural assemblages that explore the phenomenology of stepping outside of one's immediate domestic environment to consider the vastness of the universe. Taking as its metaphor the nomadic animal of its title, the show explores the notion of being lost in unfamiliar surroundings both physical and psychological – postulating the notion of a wilderness of the soul. Juxtaposing the 'polite table manners' of western society with the raw earth of the South Africa, it creates a sense of otherness that transports the viewer from a micro to macro view of the world that is all-at-once exciting, disquieting and slightly bizarre. AnOther stepped into the minute void with the artist to talk bewilderment, urban wilderness and the encroaching claustrophobia of domesticity.

"The first thing I ever made was probably made of Lego. Having an architect as a dad meant I was always surrounded by architectural drawings so the buildings I made of Lego would have detailed spaces inside that you wouldn't be able to see. At school, I remember creating a metal sculpture, its form was taken from the negative space in a still life set-up or something similar. It was copper and I think I changed the colours in it with heat. From there I was pretty set on sculpture. I've never referred to myself as a sculptor though. I'd probably describe myself as a multimedia artist. I enjoy working across disciplines – it’s the most successful way to convey my ideas. In a collection of video works I have been making since 2008 titled Transitory Sites, I have been exploring the point of tension between the natural and built worlds, capturing the tense and fragile equilibrium between the two. In all these pieces nature is slowly winning over man’s advancements, and the absence of the human inhabitant leaves a question mark on how we fit in to it all. The works in Wildebeest seek to convey a contrast between the claustrophobia of the domestic environment with a larger, more distant landscape. In a similar way to daydreaming in the middle of a conversation, I hope the work allows the mind to wander outside the space that it inhabits. The area of South Africa that inspired the works has a very surreal quality to it – it is overwhelming and harsh while wearing some veil of serenity. One person I spoke to about the exhibition felt quite transported on some level to that landscape. This is a massive compliment because it means in some way the work has communicated that sense of bewilderment faced with the vastness of the planet. The moment I actually encountered a wildebeest was incredible for me. In an environment that was so unfamiliar to me, I found myself really understanding this creature. The animal was properly in 'the wilderness' – it was encircled by it and terrified by it. The creature fitted from aggressive to passive reaction, but the instinct was that it shouldn't continue forward or move backward…so what happens next? In the show I placed three portrait videos side by side. The piece to the right shows a wooden platform leading your eye out to a distant landscape – an area the South Africans in the area call The Wilderness and the image to the left is a corridor with the same pull on the viewers gaze toward a distant point at the end of an urban tunnel. The central image has no distant point to stare towards, instead a wildebeest stands in the glare of a moving spotlight. The wildebeest is known for migrating across vast distances, sometimes 1000s of miles. This custom draws between the work and its title, and also a larger ongoing enquiry into notion of 'home' and its vulnerability, which has been at the heart my practice for many years. The Wildebeest is a clear motif and one I want to explore further."

Wildebeest is at Vitrine Gallery until July 2, 2011.