Minecrafting

Minecrafting, is a group portrait shot with no stage directions at a Mykonos summer vacation home. The photograph captures spontaneous, cinematic moments and everyday gestures, in the subjects as much as in the spaces they inhabit. The subjects are immersed in their activities in two separate yet interconnected spaces, their gaze away from camera, with the women intent in kitchen chores and the children playing a video game. Conversation appears to occur amongst them(selves), leaving the spectator at the margins of action. The photograph draws inspiration from Dutch Renaissance and Baroque trompe-l’oeil painting. The careful framing of the subject matter, as well as the peculiar architecture of the space with its small-framed window onto a different space, aid the achievement of a play on linear perspective.

Hania Farrell (b. 1965, Lebanon) lives and works in London (UK). She studied interior design at BUC (Beirut), Pratt Institute (New York) and Charpentier (Paris). Current solo projects include 'Tree of Life', at Bellevue Medical Centre (Beirut, 2016/17). Recent solo shows include: the digital exhibition 'Converse' (VertuLife app, 2016/17), Beirut Art Fair (2014 and 2015) and Singapore Art Fair (2014), as well as commissions for Beirut Art Week (Air France, 2014; VERTU, 2015) and TEAL, a major site-specific solo exhibition at a derelict Chelsea townhouse (London, 2013). Current and upcoming group exhibitions include: 'The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2016' with the work Helix (from the series: Helix) (Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, 2017; The Beaney, Canterbury, 2017, previously at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 2016/17). The exhibition 'RPS International Images for Science', including Collider III and Looking for the Bang (from the series: Collider) (Banbury Museum; City Arts Centre, Edinburgh; Royal Albert Hall, The Crystal, London; Cheltenham Science Festival; Haymer's College, Hull; Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester). Recent group exhibitions include: 'Portrait Salon 2016' with the work 'Minecrafting' (Craft Central, London, 2016), ArtGemini Prize 2016 Exhibition (Asia House, London, 2016), 'Nature Connections' (Derby University, 2016), 'Summer Salon', curated by Sanmartino, Mangrai, Lubomirov, Falbo, Damary, Bleeker and Angus-Hughes (Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes, London, 2016), 'Of the Sea' - Art in the Dockyard 2016, curated by Hannah Conroy (The Historic Dockyard Chatham, 2016), 'Stewarts Law RCA Secret' (Dubai, London, 2016), 'Point & Shoot' (Cock'n Bull Gallery, London, 2013). Her work is represented in private collections across the UK, the US, Indonesia, Lebanon, UAE, Italy and Switzerland. Farrell's practice has been discussed and published by, amongst others, The Guardian, RPS Journal, BBC arabic, The Saatchi Gallery Magazine ART&MUSIC, ArtTribune, Photomonitor, pample-mousse, Foci Magazine, The Daily Star, L'Orient LE JOUR.