Mike Nelson is born in Loughborough in 1967. He is known for his large-scale sculptures and installations, which accurately reproduce maze-like sequences of rooms and corridors, completely transforming the exhibition space. Filled with clues to interpret, his works suggest tangled and intriguing narratives difficult to be reconstructed because never openly told. References to cinema and literature, with a special attraction for Borges, Jules Verne, Lovecraft and 70's science fiction, merge in his work with psychologically charged atmospheres of conspiracy, marginality and mystery. Nelson's work invites the viewers to lose themselves not only in the irrational course of its constructions but also in the myriad of associations and interpretations they offer.

His show at The British School of Rome, curated by Cristiana Perrella, is a "ten years after" version of Agent Dickson at the Red Star Hotel, an installation realised in 1995 for the Hales gallery in London. A strange spherical vehicle, made up with old crates and cardboard boxes, takes up almost all the gallery space, plunged in a reddish light. In its small  cabin there are traces of recent human presence: a hammock, a book written in Arabic script, a fuel canister, pots, pans, motorcycle helmets sporting the Turkish red star and crescent, a portrait of Ataturk. A radio crackles on. It's difficult to imagine who might have been there until just a moment before.

Dates:

15 April - 14 May 2005

Venue:    Rome

The British School at Rome, Via Gramsci 61

Information:

tel. 06 32649381