A close-up of underarm hair, stripes of sunlight on sand, a circle of oddly-costumed people clasping hands (and touching toes)—Shezad Dawood’s frenetic post-apocalyptic film, It was a time that was a time (2015), imagines what life might be like for survivors of a natural disaster. Shot in waterfront areas of New York hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, the film is a product of Dawood’s residency at the Brooklyn art centre Pioneer Works last spring, and will be shown there as the central piece in an exhibition with the same name, opening on Thursday, 10 September (through 21 November). This first US solo show for the London artist also includes other film, textile and neon works, and is part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s ninth edition of the autumnal interdisciplinary art and performance festival Crossing the Line.
