Chisenhale Gallery presented a major new commission and the first solo exhibition in the UK by Luke Willis Thompson.

For his exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery, Thompson presented a portrait of Diamond Reynolds. In July 2016, Reynolds broadcast, via Facebook Live, the moments immediately after the fatal shooting of her partner Philando Castile by a police officer during a traffic-stop in Minnesota, United States. Reynolds’ video circulated widely online and amassed over six million views.

In November 2016, with the assistance of Chisenhale Gallery, Thompson established a conversation with Reynolds, and her lawyer, and invited Reynolds to work with him on the production of an artwork. Thompson proposed to make an aesthetic response that could act as a ‘sister-image’ to Reynolds’ video broadcast. Thompson and Reynolds agreed to produce a film together, to be presented in London, and which would break with the well-known image of Reynolds, caught in a moment of violence and distributed within a constant flow of news.

The final work was produced in April 2017. It is a silent portrait of Reynolds shot on 35mm, black and white film and will be presented in the gallery as a single screen work.

Luke Willis Thompson (b. 1988 Auckland) lives and works in London. Selected solo exhibitions include Sucu Mate/Born Dead, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland (2016); and a forthcoming solo exhibition at IMA, Brisbane opening July 2016. Recent group exhibitions include Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Museum, Queensland and Surround Audience, New Museum Triennial, New York (both 2015).

The Chisenhale Gallery Create Residency is an ambitious 18-month artists’ residency in collaboration with Chisenhale Gallery. The partnership reflects the mutual interests of Create and Chisenhale Gallery’s Offsite Programme in commissioning artists to engage with east London’s communities and its varied social and cultural contexts. Luke Willis Thompson is the Chisenhale Gallery Create Residency artist for 2016-17.

The Chisenhale Gallery Create Residency is supported by Arts Council England.