Omer Ga’ash — NudeTexture
To mark the beginning of winter and send off Shoreditch Arts Club’s inaugural year we are pleased to welcome multidisciplinary artist Omer Ga’ash as the final recipient of our moving image commissions programme of 2023, with the work titled NudeTexture, curated by Tamara Admoni.
The three-video art, commissioned by Shoreditch Arts Club, features different patterns in motion — collages of bodily elements merging and camouflaging with botanical, architectural, and cultural motifs. Together, they create dynamic compositions of shapes, lines and colours that are constantly morphing. Corresponding to one another, each screen offers its own perspective on the connection between the human body and its surroundings.
Ahead of the highly anticipated opening evening of NudeTextures on December 1st, we interviewed Omer Ga’ash about his surreal and mesmerising artwork, and Tamara Admoni, who curated the moving image works and opening event.
Omer Ga’ash, multidisciplinary artist, photographer and co-founder of QWE’RE London
Omer, We’re very excited to have your work as the closing moving image commission of 2023, welcoming the winter season with NudeTexture on the screens at Shoreditch Arts Club.
Would you mind telling us about yourself, your practice, and how your work has evolved over the years?
OG: I’m a multidisciplinary artist living and working in London. I’ve always been a creative person and one who shifts between many practices, carrying them with me into my next adventure. Ballroom dancing, architecture (in which I hold a professional certificate), photogrammetry technician, graphic design — all these practices and tools, alongside my passion for exploring the human body, are embodied in the way I photograph.
I can see how significantly all these practices resonate in the way that I work with the human body, addressing it as a form in my still photos and shape in my video work; exploring the relationship between one body and another, one body and itself, or one body and its environment.
My experience working as a graphic designer for over 15 years, combined with my training in mapping and photogrammetry has led me to what I call NudeTexture. I started to deal with this concept four years before studying for a Masters in Design Expanded Practice at Goldsmiths. Since then, I have continued to develop and explore this concept through a variety of projects, adding layers and greater perspective over time. For this exhibition, I have developed moving patterns using videos of models, combining them with natural and architectural elements.
NudeTexture by Omer Ga’ash, 2023
Could you tell us about NudeTexture, and what the title and concept mean to you?
NudeTexture denotes a pattern made from cutout photos of the human body, rearranged in the form of a collage.
At first glance, viewers won’t necessarily recognise what constitutes the patterns. NudeTexture expresses my aesthetic and my interpretation of an environment. To me, it reflects our connections as a society - bringing together heritage, history, culture, and emotion. In addition, I strive to find a way to bring a naked body to a space in a less provocative way than society might see it, eliminating judgement and bias. These patterns are presented as artworks, but they can also be used in everyday life: in our living environment, fashion, home decor and more. In a similar way to how I mix a variety of practices and creative fields, I want those textures to cross disciplines and to blur boundaries.
The human body, especially the male anatomy, seems to be the most prominent visual element in your works, including in NudeTexture. Would you like to expand on this overarching motif and its interconnectivity to the other elements that you explore in this work?
For me, one of the main goals in making NudeTexture is to make nudity accessible in public spaces in a non-provoking way. When I photograph people I usually direct them in diverse poses and situations, as part of my exploration of the possibilities and interactions of the human body. As this practice requires the ability to control the body, I usually work with dancers, yogis, athletes, and people who can bring that quality of movement to the expression of my ideas - but not only. I’m gay and I find the male body fascinating and powerful to work with. It’s also what I know best and where I feel most comfortable, but as I grow with my practice I feel more confident in broadening this approach. Regarding the other motifs, NudeTexture is a reflection of society, so the various elements represent different aspects of society - some abstract, some concrete. They give voice to heritage, culture, origin, achievement and social structure.
We also interviewed curator Tamara Admoni to discuss the dynamic and synergy between her and the artist, whose combined long-time collaboration resulted in the exciting upcoming commission for Shoreditch Arts Club.
Tamara, could you tell us more about the process of curating this project, including your curatorial practice and collaborating with Omer?
TA: I have known Omer for quite some time, and I was always very impressed by his work. One time we casually discussed Omer’s ideas for his next body of work. From his words, it sounded like the next step of his artistic path, which you see now in the current exhibition, would be a sort of merging of his diverse practices: his ongoing interest in creating textures, the interplay and illusions of montages, but this time combining the human body with its surroundings and diverse external elements, which also refer to his photography. He had a vision and I thought that it could become a wonderful solo exhibition, and we started from there. Together we came up with the final concept.
I believe that a successful curatorial process is about collaborations and is always the result of mutuality and exchange. With Omer, I feel we created a great dialogue, and we were open to one another’s ideas and comments. Working with an individual artist on a solo exhibition, as in this case, means entering into someone’s inner world; their own inspirations, emotions, associations, and ideas. There should be a balance between my own interpretation of the work and the artist’s intentions, which is created through dialogue. The multidisciplinary approach that Omer and I share also makes the work more fulfilling. I always aspire to merge various cultural, creative, and artistic fields. I believe in blurring the boundaries and hierarchies between the varied disciplines of the arts, and in creating meaningful experiences centred around art. I think that the opening event of the exhibition truly embodies this approach.
NudeTexture by Omer Ga’ash, 2023
Finally, thank you so much for curating the Winter Moving Image Commission and the opening evening — could you tell us what to expect for the event on December 1st, and throughout NudeTexture’s season at the club?
The opening event will be a multidisciplinary celebration of visual art, fashion, music, and performance. We will have two live DJ sets echoing the essence of the work, creating an audiovisual experience. In addition to that, a stunning performance will respond to the video art, blurring the boundaries between the art projected on the screens and the physical live space of the viewers. Omer’s new book Mapping Bodies will also be launched at the event, and merch with the artist’s print in collaboration with FIA fashion studio will be purchasable on the evening. We wish to create a dreamlike and immersive atmosphere, where the audience is invited to explore the possibilities of bodily perception and beyond.
As for the rest of the winter season we will be hosting intimate events at the club relating to the works, unfolding more interpretations and possibilities and will include diverse artistic activities and talks that will be announced soon!
