Ali Merhi: Afteruse

Ali Merhi's practice is grounded in collection and assemblage. For Afteruse, he gathers everyday objects and materials around which life is improvised: food cans, oil and water containers, furniture both usable and broken, and fragments whose original functions have been exhausted. These belong to the informal economies of maintenance that shape the urban environment, where things are repaired and returned to circulation. Merhi brings them into the studio, where they are transformed into a variety of structures. Some are drawn or collated into wooden frames, acquiring a pictorial, painterly life of their own; others take on peculiar sculptural forms, or resemble musical instruments. Each is fitted with a motor that sets it in motion, producing vibration and noise. What we hear is a strident cacophony, something akin to a cry of refusal. Their mechanisms extend these histories of use and wear, lending the objects and materials a new life. The exhibition opens on Friday 16 October, 4–9 pm, and is open Monday to Friday, 12–6 pm.