#CASatHome: Little Works (2007), by Andrea Büttner

This film was online from 12.00, 10 June 2020 to 12.00, 13 June 2020

As part of the #CASatHome film series we are pleased to present Little Works (2007) by Andrea Büttner. Donated to the Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales by the CAS in 2015, it has been made available here for 72 hours only through the generosity of the artist and Hollybush Gardens.  

Andrea Büttner works primarily in traditional modes such as woodcut and reverse glass painting as well as video and performance. She is interested in drawing connections between art history and notions of poverty, shame, vulnerability, dignity and the belief systems that underpin them.   

The film follows the life of nuns in a West London Carmelite convent, exploring the relationship between religion and art. The nuns observe strict rules regarding interaction with the outside world. Büttner, unable to enter the convent, enlisted the help of Sister Luke, one of the nuns in the order, who filmed her sisters’ ‘little works’, the small creative projects such as crocheted bowls, drawings and candles. The film depicts a world otherwise inaccessible to the public. Religion is a recurring subject in Büttner's work, and she is influenced by historical figures such as Sister Corita Kent, whose artwork of the 1960s and 70s brought together both her religious and political beliefs. The work has powerful links to Gwen John’s work with closed religious' communities some hundred years earlier, which is also in the Museum’s collection. 

Andrea Büttner (b. Stuttgart, 1972) lives and works in London and Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen (2018); Hammer Art Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles (2017); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2016). Recent group exhibitions include Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm (2018); Ferens Art Gallery, Hull (2017); Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (2016)