Sarah Beddington (°1964, GB) selects a disparate range
of imagery, from a bathroom in a Cairo belly dancers¹ club to a take-away in
Brixton, all photographed by the artist during night-time excursions in various
cities. Like a cinematic flip-book, the piece reveals sequences of the same
space, which is viewed sometimes from a distance, sometimes from close up. These
impersonal interiors are interrupted by inanimate objects. In this artificially
lit world devoid of people, even everyday items are transformed to suggest
possible intrigue. A narrative is implied but under scrutiny this breaks down
into a series of fragments. A dark veil of paint on the surface appears to bind
everything together but actually provides further interruption by concealing
certain underlying images, depending on the viewer's position. This denies the
possibility of ever viewing the whole piece simultaneously. The sense of
absence in this unresolved narrative creates a disquieting sense of waiting for
something to happen which is not quite known, yet strangely familiar, like a
half remembered dream.