Heather and Ivan Morison:
Slyk Chaynjis

UK-based artists Heather and Ivan Morison have been commissioned by DiverseWorks to create their first major institutional project in the United States.  Using social personae to investigate the construction of self, the Morisons engage with materials, histories, sites and processes.  Their work takes various forms and has included film, sculpture and public art, theatrical and musical performances, literature, and community engagement. For DiverseWorks, the Morisons have developed an expansive narrative that includes a gallery exhibition and mobile public performances.

Slyk Chaynjis is both the name of the exhibition and the protagonist in a fictional narrative about an unlikely pair of travelers on an epic journey. The Morisons’ dark comedy unfolds over the course of six acts and in multiple locations–inside and outside of DiverseWorks–and unpacks the construction of “self” as a performance provoked by personal trauma, psychological breakdown, and ethical discrepancy. On the road to places unknown and for purposes unclear, Slyk and her companion struggle to reconcile internal truths with public perceptions as they resolutely forge ahead into a future filled with delusion, enchantment, and fleeting hope.

About the artists

Heather Peak was born in Desborough, UK in 1973 and Ivan Morison in Istanbul, Turkey in 1974. Currently they live and work between Brighton and North Wales. The Morisons represented Wales at the 52nd Venice Biennale and have had solo exhibitions of their works at important venues such as: The Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, The Southbank Centre London, Milton Keynes, The Hepworth Wakefield, Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Camden Arts Centre.