Lay Down is the first major solo show by artist Leah Capaldi. The exhibition opens Matt’s Gallery’s new temporary space in Bermondsey, marking a new era for the gallery as it moves south of the river.

Lay Down is an entirely new work by Capaldi, a site-specific installation involving a video sculpture with continual performance, inspired by her time in the deserts of the American West. Here, Capaldi met a Utah cowboy and his horse, a film exploring their relationship and the vast, performative landscape that surrounds them forms the core of the installation. Lay Down asks how power is constructed and understood, this question arising throughout the installation, in the iconic figure of the American cowboy, the influence of the sublime landscape and the authority of the screen.

The crossover area between the disciplines of sculpture and performance are of particular interest to Leah Capaldi’s practice, with echoes of the seminal performance work of the late 1960s and early 70s. Capaldi’s work explores the pivotal relationship between object or subject, encouraging the audience to question themselves in relation to the work and playing with notions of surveillance and spectatorship.

Leah Capaldi: Lay Down at Matt’s Gallery is generously supported by The University of Brighton, 5A Studios and Arts Council England.

With thanks to: West Taylor, Bill Roberts, Elliot Ross, Jason Moffat, Roddy Canas, Paul Russell, Barbara Capaldi, Arthur Manzo, Al Gunby, Elias Bate, Angus Braithwaite, Lawrence Leaman and Tim Lucas from Price and Myers.

Performer Credits: Jonathan Caruana, Josh Gardener, Gordon Raeburn, Bless Klepcharek.