Artist talk with Jess Johnson and Simon Ward

Join us for the much-anticipated floor talk by Terminus exhibition’s artists Jess Johnson and Simon Ward about their fascinating collaboration in this exhibition.

Johnson and Ward’s collaborative practice is based on their mutual enthusiasm for meticulously-constructed fictional realities. For several years, Johnson’s hand-drawn compositions have documented an arcane, alien realm, weaving together holographic mesh-works of grids, brickwork, architectural monuments, humanoid clones, and Messianic figures. Ward’s background as an animator and video director further expands Johnson’s drawings into animated media.

Working together since 2013, their collaborations translate Johnson's drawings into video and virtual reality, giving audiences the simulated experience of entering the hypnotic realms depicted in her drawings. Their works are often displayed within constructed environments that act as physical portals into their speculative worlds.

Johnson and Ward’s work has been exhibited internationally at Art Basel, Hong Kong (2016); Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh (2016); Centre Clarke, Montreal (2017); Toronto International Film Festival (2017); Hubei Museum of Art, China (2017); National Gallery of Australia (2018); Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand (2018); Jack Hanley Gallery, New York (2019) and Nanzuka Gallery, Japan (2019) Jess Johnson is represented by Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, USA; Nanzuka Gallery, Japan; Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, Australia; and Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand.