commissioned by Casula Power House, for AUSTRALIAN,  2008, curated by Nick Tsoutas

Portrait of David, a single man living alone in a tenement flat in the South side of Glasgow.  David does not talk much and spends most of his time alone. He spends his weekends at home, watching television or in front of the computer. The walls are painted beige. The video documents his movements in the space;  it is through his relationship to the space, his mannerisms, and his tattoos , that we get a sense of self.

Some of Marti’s woven ‘portraits’ are accompanied by videos. These might be interpreted as sketches – ‘observational drawings’ which serve as a kind of anthropological record of Marti’s subjects and allow him to become familiarised with the most intimately personal details of his subjects’ lives. Although Marti sees the video work as a very necessary part of his overall practice, he does not show every video he makes – some are only for him. The works he does display forge a strong dialogue with their woven counterparts. One such example is Bolted, (2008) (a three-screen video installation that runs on a 41-minute loop and records the subject, David, at home in Glasgow). The film follows David’s daily routines and his unique relationship with and response to his private space, a two bedroom tenement flat, decorated in different shades of beige. Marti exhibited the piece in conjunction with three beige and black sculptures entitled Beige (2008), each woven from rubber, nylon and leather, and displayed leaning against the wall opposite the video installation.
Jane Neal , London,   ‘Dani Marti: What the Weaver Saw’ , 2008

Exhibited:

• Australian, Casula Power House, Liverpool, Australia  2008
• INHABIT, Third floor, building 2, 92 White Post Lane, London, 2011
• TOUCH; The portraiture of Dani Marti, Newcastle Art Gallery, Australia 2011