Lis Rhodes: Dissident Lines

Nottingham Contemporary presents the first-ever major exhibition of the pioneering experimental filmmaker Lis Rhodes. Dissident Lines includes works from the early 1970s to today, as well as a new commission, Ambiguous Journeys (2019). The exhibition has been made possible by the Freelands Award.

Dissident Lines spans from Rhodes’ early film installations, which connect abstracted visuals to sound, to her multilayered works responding to global politics. Throughout her career Rhodes has consistently challenged the dominant order – whether through her art practice, her influential role as a film programmer, or as an educator and campaigner for women’s rights.

Her practice encompasses film, installation, sound art, performance and writing. Dissident Lines will present Rhodes’s iconic Light Music (1975), an immersive and participatory installation. For this innovative experiment in light and sound, Rhodes composed a score of black and white lines that translates into an intense soundtrack. Set in a hazy room, viewers walk between two projections and become part of the artwork.