About me
A Short Introduction to my practise
Suspending belief in order to believe is a practice to which we commonly subscribe, even when presented with empirical evidence to the contrary. This has become all the more prevalent in the so-called “post-truth” world of certain sectors of the political elite. Whilst this practice of choosing to believe can be found across all forms of mediation and traced back to the origins of storytelling, it is ostensibly essential to the experiencing of filmic and photographic realities. My work attempts to question such acceptance.
I am an artist based in Belfast, in the North of Ireland, working during a period of history where the recent war of violence has largely been superseded by a war of narratives. I work across a range of media including forms of photography, audio/visual installation and live performance. My works can be seen as artistic enquiries into subjects, such as: how understanding is formed and truth is subscribed to; and how we can suspend belief in order to continue to believe in seemingly temporary constructs of a truth.
Biography
Peter Richards is an artist based in Belfast, in the North of Ireland. He works in a range of media including forms of photography, installation and performance, exploring interactions between re-presentation, time and referencing. He exhibits internationally and, in 2005, participated in Northern Ireland’s inaugural presentation at the Venice Biennale, ‘The Nature of Things – A Long Weekend’. Solo shows include: ‘Intuitive actions, common attributes and isolated incidents’ Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown 2014 (UK); ‘an elective family tree’, The Naughton Gallery at Queen’s, Belfast (UK), 2012; Gymnasium Gallery, Berwick upon Tweed (UK) 2007; Studio Lipoli & Lopez, Rome (IT) 2006; ZDSLU Gallery, Ljubljana (SI) 2004; ‘Live, live art’, Cornerhouse, Manchester (UK); ‘Take two: little action’, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast (UK) 2004 ‘Recent Works’, Model Arts Centre , Sligo 2002; ‘Corrective Perspective’, Context Gallery, Derry (UK) 1996.
Selected group exhibitions include: ‘Stop. Stop.Stop.’ Platform Arts, Belfast (UK) 2018; ‘States of Mind / Beyond the Image’, GASK, Prague (CZ) 2017; ‘Wind of Life’, Penghu Art Festival (TW) 2016; ‘Voices Travel’, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, (TW) 2014; Art of the Troubles, Wolverhampton Art Gallery (UK) & Ulster Museum, Belfast (UK); Les Intermittences du coeur, EX ELETTROFONICA, Rome (IT)(2012); ‘Revolution’, Galerie Deadfly, Berlin (DE) 2011; ‘Elective Perspective’, Galeria Arsenal, Bialystok (PL) 2010; ‘Tides’, Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Pittsburgh (US) 2007; ‘Dogs Have No Religion’, Czech Museum of Fine Art, Prague (CZ) 2006; ‘Through Our Eyes’, The Painting Center, New York (US) 2006; ‘The Belfast Way’, Herzlyia Museum, Tel Aviv (IL) 2005; ‘Artistas del Belfast’, La Sala Naranja, Valencia (ES)2004; ‘Think Over’, Rialto Sambrogio, Rome (IT) 2003; ‘L’art dans le monde’, Beaux Arts/Paris Musées, Pont Alexandre III, Paris, (FR) 2000; ‘The National Review of Live Art’, The Arches, Glasgow (UK); ‘The notice day in this factory is Thursday’, Het Consortium, Amsterdam (NL); ‘Bruce Barber, Peter Richards & Vallentin Torrens’, Galeria Dzialan, Warsaw (PL); ‘Interakcje 2000’, Piotrkow Trybunalski & Wroclaw (PL); ‘New Contemporaries 99’, South London Gallery & Liverpool Biennial (UK) 1999; ‘Through A Glass Darkly’, Het Consortium, Amsterdam (NL); ASHOWABOUTTIME, Milch, London (UK) 1998; ‘NI gulp’, Plug In Gallery/ICA, Winnipeg (CA); ‘Art From Belfast’, Idaho Gallery, Chicago (US); ‘Photo 98’, Hull Time Based Arts (UK); ‘Still to Real’, Transmission, Glasgow (UK); ‘L’Événement Oblique’, Tangente, Montreal (CA) 1997; ‘European Couples and Others’, Transmission, Glasgow (UK); ‘Phooey’, The 3 Month Gallery, Liverpool (UK); ‘2e Recontre International d’art Performance’, Quebec (CA) 1996.