Current Exhibition
Charlie Tweed, We are the above, 2008
Friday 2 April - Sunday 11 April 2010
Multichannel is a screening programme of artists film and video, organised and curated by ArtSway and SCAN in association with Animate Projects. The programme, which previously took place at ArtSway in 2007 and 2008, will once again feature both established practitioners, as well as ground breaking video works by artists from across the UK and around the world.
Variable Economies: The theme refers to the current economic downturn, decreased availability of resources, the influence of human intervention in the natural environment and artists approach to film and video.
Artists Selected for Multichannel: Variable Economies
George Barber, Nicky Coutts, Katie Davies, Tajinder Dhami & Zonar Mahir, Rob Heppell & Ben Jones, Kypros Kyprianou, Yaron Lapid, Alistair Ruff, Barry Sykes, Nick Tobier, Charlie Tweed, Dan Walwin, Neil Wissink
Reception for the Artists and Panel Discussion:
Saturday 10 April 2010 at 3pm
Join Multichannel co-selectors Peter Bonnell of ArtSway, Helen Sloan of SCAN and Gary Thomas of Animate Projects for a discussion of the themes on display in this year's screening programme.
FREE: All Welcome.
For more information please contact Peter Bonnell on 01590 682260 (ext.4) or email: peter@artsway.org.uk
Multichannel is presented in partnership with the following organisations:
George Barber, India Shouting Match, 2010 (6mins 36secs)
George Barber first showed Shouting Match in 2004. He has plans to make various versions of Shouting Match across the world, with a version from India being screened during Multichannel.
Biography
George Barber had a solo show at the Marc De Puechredon Gallery in Basel, Switzerland, Oct 09. His ‘Automotive Action Painting’ was also shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London 09. Previously, he had an installation at Tate Britain in 2006 and a show of his video sculptures, ‘The Long Commute’ at Jack the Pelican Presents Gallery Brooklyn, New York 2008. He has been part of numerous programmes at Tate Modern and had retrospectives at the ICA, New York Film & Video Festival and at La Rochelle Festival, France. He has been written about by Paul Morley and Gareth Evans, the Time Out & Vertigo magazine critic and glowingly in March’s Art Forum by Ed Halter and in Art Monthly by Martin Herbert. His recent found footage work, ‘Following Your Heart”, “Welcome” and “Autumn” use off-air adverts and TV films, mostly American. Additionally, he has plans to make various versions of ‘Shouting Match’ across the world. More information can found at: www.georgebarber.net
Nicky Coutts, Passing Place, 2009 (23 mins)
Passing Place is set at a remote crossroads in rural Northumberland. Scenes from six feature films, where significant moments occur at crossroads, are re-enacted by non-professional actors/local people who live or work nearby and know the location well. A single crossroads revisited again and again becomes a physical mark in the landscape where potentially life-changing decisions are made, lost love is recalled, and soldiers meet their end.
Biography
Nicky Coutts works with film, video, photography and sculpture often with found or appropriated media. She studied at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art and has shown recently at Ha Gamle Prestegard, Norway, Tatton Park Biennial and at Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo following a one-month residency. She will show at Stedefreund, Berlin in 2010 and has been awarded a six-month fellowship at Künstlerhaus Scloss Balmoral, Germany.
Katie Davies, Commonwealth, 2009 (9mins 31secs)
'In the video, Commonwealth, Davies shifts her focus between three distinct types of ceremonial activity taking place within Sheffield Town Hall: the citizenship ceremonies, the council meetings and a one-off brass-band performance, which was orchestrated at the artist’s request in one of the Council’s ceremonial chambers.
During her residency, Davies focused on those spaces and areas of activity within the Town Hall that are marked by a sense of transition or decision-making, drawing attention to the codes of behavior and civic rituals which surround them. The work explores how the fragile rules of ceremony – and of various local government procedures and protocol– often rely on the precarious authority of tradition and the continuation of common values and beliefs, without which they could lose their power and become little more than empty gestures.
Davies’ editing blurs the edges between these different contexts; fragments of sound from one location bleed over into the frame of another, offering an aural sub-text in which unexpected parallels and analogies are made. She draws attention to the points where the collective identity of a group becomes frayed at the edges, to those brief interludes within a ceremonial performance when the mask of duty or anonymity momentarily falls to reveal signs of the individual beneath.’ Emma Cocker, (2009)
Biography
Katie Davies works by establishing professional associations to institutions and individuals in order to create new work, tactically critiquing the relationship between the individual and the system within which they find themselves operating. Her practice often seems to point to or reflect on the idea of a threshold, where works often concentrate on the nature of the indistinguishable zones and in-between states, or on spaces that are in some way liminal or betwixt.
Davies’ work often operates by inhabiting a neutral position or by becoming undetectable or impartial, as a way of drawing attention to or questioning the reason and influence of a system. Operating as a foil, the work of the artist appears to hover between changing and at times conflicting positions, reflecting on what it might mean to occupy more than one position or remain in two minds.
Forthcoming exhibitions include Norske Grafikere, Oslo, 2011, Edinburgh Printmakers Gallery, 2010 and IDEAL #12, SAISON VIDEO 2010, Espace Croisé, France, 2010. Past exhibitions include Narrating the Image, no.w.here, London, 2009, EMERGENCY4, Aspex Gallery, 2009, The Sheffield Pavilion, Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2009, Cast Some light, Centre for Contemporary Art, Palestine 2008 and Glasgow International 2008. She was artist in residence at Yorkshire Artspace Society, 2009 and is an Associate Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. Katie lives and works in Bristol. More information can found at: www.katiedavies.com
Tajinder Dhami & Zonar Mahir, Cinema 1: Plastic Faeces, 2009 (4mins 16secs)
Cinema 1: Plastic Faeces engages with the topical issue of the global economic downturn, through a focus on an economy in ascension. In the six decades of regaining independence from exterior control, India slowly ascends to its former state as a ‘Super-nation’. By looking at the transformation that India is undergoing, it is possible to highlight some of the aspects of economic growth that remain in part hidden in the consumer experience. This highlighting concludes with the initial statement of ‘Economic abundance equates to the proliferation of toxic waste’. These ideas are expressed in a ‘subtle movement’ from an economic centre to its circumference, showing the translation of fertile lands into a toxic wasteland.
Biographies
Tajinder Dhami [b.1970. UK] is an art-praxis researcher in digital animation and video. His practice unfolds around notions of liminality and extension, for which he utilizes the relationships between time, space and attention to create phenomenological encounters which reside in sublime spaces and places. Tajinder is co- founder of Bristol Based independent artists animation label ‘Stanthers Ink’ and is a graduate in both art and philosophy from the animation departments at the NCCA and RCA.
Zonar Mahir born [b.1970] in Lahore Pakistan, now resident in Chandigarh, India is a philanthropist, street performance poet & thinker, He recites his Improvisational works on his impromptu travels around India. His work engages with issues of ‘oneness’, exploring multi-faith intersections as a form of contemporary spirituality. Zonar is a member of Stanthers Ink’s growing family.
The two met at Kangra bus station [H.P India] , where Zonar was performing his work, and a meeting of kindred spirits, minds and a shared interest in production methodologies led to the culmination of this film, which is part of a larger collection of ‘speed encodings’ exploring the theme of being ‘In Transit’.
Heppel & Jones, Tybalt, 2009 (4mins)
Rob: We stayed for a while on Anglesey a few years back and after a week, the sea really got to me - the repeat of the waves both aurally and visually... it had a profound effect. When I was a young kid, doing chores, I used to try and harmonize with the hoover - if you do it long enough, creating the sound you hear with your ears again with your mouth - you almost feel like a conduit... without centre, without purpose or process...
Ben: A Ghost ship - when we were doing the sound, I kept thinking of the repetitive sounds that you'd find on an abandoned ship... the tables and plates laid out, ready to be eaten off, no humans... just this cycle of different clinks as china repeatedly couples and uncouples with silverware... that was the main palate.
Biographies
Rob Heppell is a writer and video artist who works periodically in London. Ben Jones is a filmmaker and, at times, musician who mainly operates from Staffordshire.
Kypros Kyprianou, Irrational Exuberance or where the cow shits, 2009 (6mins)
During the stock market boom of 1996, the then US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan used the term "Irrational exuberance" fourteen pages into a dinner speech to question whether the market might be overvalued. His utterance of the phrase caused a minor crash, acquiring the meaning of the mindset that occurs during speculative bubbles.
The video “Irrational Exuberance or where the cow shits” documents an hour-long poio da vaca (cow dung) draw that took place in 2009 in Mesão Frio, Portugal.
Biography
Kypros Kyprianou is a London based artist whose solo practice was once described as akin to a reverse culturologist - using cultural artefacts to examine scientific approaches. He also works in collaboration with Simon Hollington creating installations that incorporate video, film, sound, interactive electronics, found objects and graphic design. Their work focusses on media representations of science and technology and creates parafictional accounts that borrow scenarios freely from science-fiction films, governmental reports and the outpourings of business public relations. More information can be found at: www.electronicsunset.org
Yaron Lapid, Casual Mechanisms, 2006 (2mins 26 secs)
Yaron Lapid is a Israel born artist and filmmaker. His work is experimental, typically exploring social side-effects and behaviors in his immediate surroundings, primarily in the context of the shift between privet and public.
Biography
Yaron has a Masters in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College and a BA (Hons) in Photography and Video from Bezal'el Academy, Jerusalem. He lives and works in London.
Alistair Ruff, Reduction: Sunrise to Sunset, London, UlaanBaatar, Seoul and Guangzhou, various dates (four one minute films)
Reduction is a series of photo films documenting different cities over the length of a day, from sunrise to sunset.
None of the photographs were edited and the route chosen was decided randomly. No attempt was made to enforce a prior conception of the city. The viewer receives a rapid series of impressions (between 4 and 8 frames per second) from which to draw their own conclusions as to the places shown. Despite the brevity of time they are displayed, the images surprisingly gather and remain in the consciousness of the viewer, adding up to a complete impression of the place.
Biography
Alistair Ruff is an artist experimenting with documentary photography and stills films. He studied Documentary Photography at University of Wales College Newport before moving to Hong Kong and embarking on a series of photo essays taken throughout China. Now based in London, he has exhibited nationally and internationally and was nominated for the Gstaad Film Festival Prize, Switzerland in 2007 for his short films ‘Reduction, Sunrise to Sunset’.
Barry Sykes, The Least Most (The Most Least?), 2009 (11mins)
Barry Sykes’ artwork is a diverse practice of slight gestures, brief disruptions and short-term collaborations, candidly portrayed in a wide variety of media, be it sculpture, performance, video, photography or works on paper. Recent works have incorporated miniscule charitable donations, forgery, innovations in adhesives, defacing money and impersonating a part–time Police Community Support Officer complete with home-made uniform. Sykes’ video ‘The Least Most (The Most Least?)’ is concerned with transaction, negotiation, design and commitment, and is a one-take, uncut record of his visit to a notorious local Tattoo parlour.
Biography
Barry Sykes was born in Essex in 1976 and lives and works in South East London, UK. He received his Fine Art MA from Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2000. He has presented work at The Frieze Art Fair; PS1 MoMA New York; alt-cph, Copenhagen; and The National Gallery, Prague and worked with Grizedale Arts, Itchy Park, the design duo Committee and his own father. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘The Desperate Designer’ Gallop, London, 2009; 'I Was Born On The Day Heidegger Died (But I Don't Know Much About His Work)', i-cabin, London, 2008; and ‘Tree Hugger’, Platform Finland, 2008. In 2010/11 he will be undertaking a residency at Plymouth Arts Centre. More information can be found at: www.barrysykes.info
Nick Tobier
Dutch Work, 2008 (2mins)
Our touring the dykes of Maarken, Nerherlands, the Dutch Worker is inspired by the giant wind turbines to use his body and cycle as a counterpoint, engaging the two potential alternative energy sources in a duet.
Parking Lot Opportunity, 2008 (2mins)
A sizable expanse of real estate sits behind my house. Under-utilised day in and day out. Before or after the work day, between errands. Capitalising on the down time between the alleged primary use of a car parking area, this action demonstrates the potential of alternative uses.
Biography
Most often I have described my work as situational. If there's a situation, I'll try and interrupt it with something that is gently oout of place - an aberrant gesture. I hope that my actions as an artist provoke the possibility that everyday places and objects can be rather extraordinary, and that these scenarios serve as catalysts to reconsider the parameters of potential utility.
Aside these public spectacles, I offer small street side services - a bridge to assist crossing puddles, a woven and upholstered mobile tent that dispense hot chocolate, and a tricycle driven chandelier that illuminated dark streets. The once utilitarian services have become celebratory events more than stricly functional objects, and I believe strongly that this public celebration is inherently functional.
I studied and practiced landscape architecture, and currently focus my practice and with the city of Detroit, where there are plenty of parking spaces at all times. More information can be found at: www.everydayplaces.com
Charlie Tweed, Notes: Part I, 2009 (8mins 26 secs)
In ‘Notes: Part I’ a series of video transmissions have been created using appropriated digital material and have been catalogued in an archive concerned with contemporary plans for new extreme forms of community and control over the environment.
These 'transmissions' appear to document a series of actions orchestrated by swarm like groups on a mass scale. These groups appear to be driven by extreme notions of existensial risk and a motivation for pure survival beyond all else.
In the first video 'We are the above' (2008) an unknown group ('the above') outline their plans to appropriate high platforms and then activate a plan for mass flooding. The 'above' embrace the notion of flooding and have followers who are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to 'bring the water'. In: 'Where we are now' a group outlines plans to capture all birds "and store them securely in places where they can operate freely". And in the final video 'We must undo' a group communicate a plan to orchestrate a mass re-wilding.
Biography
Charlie Tweed graduated from Goldsmiths MFA Fine Art in 2008, he was selected for dragged down into lowercase (Sommerakademie) at the Zentrum Paul Klee in 2008, 100 Years, 100 Artists, 100 Works of Art, Platform for Art (2008); was the winner of the Galerie Klatovy Klenova prize at the Start Point European Academy Awards 2008; was the winner of the ECO 2009 Prize and selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2007.
Other recent exhibitions and screenings include: The MAB Film Exercise (2010) at Arnolfini, Bristol (Curated by Marie-Anne McQuay); MODIFICATIONS 2010, Aarhus Centre for Contemporary Art, Aarhus, Denmark; Time is a sausage (2009), DOMOBAAL, London; So much more(2009), MeetFactory, Prague, Czech Republic; Started (2009), Galerie Klatovy, Klenova; Whitstable Biennale (2008); and Annual Members Exhibition (2008), Studio Voltaire, London.
Dan Walwin, Silencer, 2009 (5mins)
Silencer (2009, HD video, 5’) takes the recognisable form of an interrogation, and fragments it over two different locations and turns it inwards by the use of a single actor playing dual roles. One role of the actor is consigned to the turbulence and chaos of the water, while the other uses the privileged position above water to their advantage, and subjects the powerless other to some kind of pain in order to extract information.
Biography
Dan Walwin is an artist working primarily in video, having studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, London, graduating in 2007. Recent shows include For the sake of the image at Jerwood Space, London, 2010, Verena Klary, Iwan van't Spijker, Dan Walwin at Walden Affairs, The Hague, 2009, and Nature Untouched at Tou Vindu, Stavanger, 2007. More information can be found at www.danwalwin.co.uk
Neil Wissink, Cipher, 2008 (5mins)
Cipher was shot at Wilton’s music Hall in Whitechapel, east London. Wilton’s was built in 1858 and was the first popular music hall to open in the East End. After about 10 years of prosperity it went into decline and has been semi-derelict for many years. The building has never been altered or restored, and in its present state retains a fragile, evocative beauty. The film registers the interior of Wilton’s in a series of high-definition tracking shots, leading you through the building before revealing an impossible snowfall. The snow was created digitally, confounding the presumed indexicality of the medium while offering a contrast to the dark, nineteenth-century interior, and a parallel to the early days of film practice and the historical period of transition from stage illusions, as popularised in venues like Wilton’s, to ‘magic’ films such as those of Georges Melies.
Biography
Neil Wissink is a Canadian-born artist currently based in London. Since completing his studies at the Royal College of Art (2007) and Central St. Martins College of Art and Design (2003) he has exhibited his work in galleries and festivals internationally. Neil recently won the AMIP award for artist's moving image, to create a new film supported by the National Film and Television and the Royal College of Art.