David Cotterrell
Shadows & Lies

For his sixth solo show at Danielle Arnaud gallery, David Cotterrell presents a new body of work, considering the illusion of evidence and a search for context. For the past four years, David has been wrestling with where he belongs. Searching for a contextual reference, he has found himself cycling through suburbs, wandering in deserts, drifting at sea, and immersed in archives. This new series of experimental responses explores the contradictions of dreams, evidence, and perception. Developing his holographic vitrines, exploring the dynamics of game engines and revisiting a curiosity with shadow projection, he offers a series of vignettes, animations, and anomalies within the gallery. Through an idiosyncratic range of influences, he explores historical storytelling in humble homage to the aesthetics of baroque painting, the irony of Dimitrijevic, and the journeys of Eisenstein.


David Cotterrell is an installation artist who uses various media and technologies to explore the social and political tendencies of a world that is simultaneously shared and divided. An interest in the intersection typifies the practice: whether fleeting encounters or heavily orchestrated events, Cotterrell’s works explore the human condition and the breaks or nuances that can lead to a less ambiguous understanding of the world they inhabit. Encapsulating the roles of programmer, producer, and director, Cotterrell develops projects that embrace the quiet spaces that are the sites for action. Cotterrell’s work has been commissioned and shown extensively in Europe, the United States and Asia. He is a Research Professor of Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University.

With the kind support of Sheffield Hallam University Art, Design and Media Research Centre (ADMRC) and Alioscopy.