Arrangements
Varied botanical and non-botanical materials, photography, since 2018.
An evolving series of arrangements using flowers, plants, branches, as well as diverse non-botanical materials: paper, metal, leather, rubber, electrical cable, fabric, musical instruments, and human bodies. The arrangements are ephemeral, sometimes lasting only a few moments before they collapse. The final form is predominantly studio photographs, however some are made for gallery exhibition, requiring watering and the replenishment of perishable materials.This ephemerality foregrounds the performative, time-based aspect of working with botanical matter. The resulting works are therefore not merely material assemblages, but also traces of the gestures and affects of acts of arranging.
The first gallery exhibition from the series was Mixed Faggot at LifeSpace, Dundee, in the Disentangled exhibition curated by Cicely Farrer in 2019. A Tiberian shepherd’s flute from the archives of the University of Dundee served as the starting point for the arrangement. Live arranging performances followed at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Cobalt, Newcastle; and ZEIT, Antwerp.
The first gallery exhibition from the series was Mixed Faggot at LifeSpace, Dundee, in the Disentangled exhibition curated by Cicely Farrer in 2019. A Tiberian shepherd’s flute from the archives of the University of Dundee served as the starting point for the arrangement. Live arranging performances followed at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Cobalt, Newcastle; and ZEIT, Antwerp.
Nemer’s first solo exhibition dedicated exclusively to photographs from the Arrangements series took place at Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain in Montréal in Autumn 2021. The exhibition, entitled “Pour un herbier”, was part of Montreal’s Momenta Biennale de l’Image, featuring eleven prints and a commissioned text by Kiriakos Spirou. Of the Arrangements series, Spirou writes, “[Nemer] creates ephemeral assemblages of flowers and found objects. Fragile and supple as they are, these compositions can be read as ideal bodies emerging through nuance and tacit sensibility. If there are any instructions, they are whispered. If there is power at play, it dissolves like mist.”
