Managed to finally visit the new commission in the turbine hall at Tate Modern (finally because it’s been up for a while as opposed to because we’ve been anxious to see it). There’s been plenty of negative reviews so our feelings towards it were always going to be skewed. However, it actually felt OK. Not brilliant by any means but fun none the less. This was aided by the swings being for 3 people as opposed to just the one by hindered by the show’s half hearted “production” section at the far end of the hall. This aspect felt unnecessarily explain-y for something that is really just a bit of fun and shouldn’t try to apologise for being so.
Also managed to just catch the show at White Cube before it finished. First up was Ann Veronica Janssens, a name some may recognise from her show at the wellcome collection last year featuring in Facebook profile pictures everywhere, the room full of coloured mist. Her work is quite material based for us but absolutely beautiful objects which are impossible not to admire. However, describing her works as material based is slightly strange since in some ways they’re fairly “non-material” or ephemeral due to being constructed out of light or mist. When we say the word material it’s more focused around the aesthetic/desired look. These are truly what people are talking about when they describe art that needs to be experienced in person.
Next there was Cerith Wyn Evans doing his thing with neon lights. It was actually a very appropriate space for it; long and thin. But even though the work fitted perfectly into the room it didn’t make it much more exciting than previous iterations.
Finally, we had Damián Ortega whose press release began with a quote from him which perfectly sums up the way we feel about most art-making. He speaks about art being an “un-learning process”, which we take to mean that it’s linked to notions of deconstruction and general investigation into “truth” or things taken for granted. In addition to that, the show was very well put together. It was a proper body of work that really related to each other without being the same work or the same idea, it truly flowed. This ties in to how he thinks about art and science – both are exploratory and creative in their own right and take you on a journey of discovery. The linking of art and science is also something that is visible in the work produced as well as the method of producing. There are these subtle references to the solar system and geometry throughout the show, very strong indeed.
There’s another podcast up on Artists and Friends which is the exclusive podcast we recorded with isthisit? founder Bob Bicknell-Knight for the second issue of the isthisit? magazine where we discuss the themes of the magazine such as memes and appropriation on the internet. Listen in >>>here<<< and you can pick up a PDF of the second issue below >>>here<<< or pre-order the third issue >>>here<<.
With our own practice we’ve recently been researching more into ideas of implied narratives and the potential beginnings of where it might have come from. This continues on from the exhibition in Manchester, An Exchange of Sorts, which as we may have already mentioned is based around emerging artist’s relationship to money, and making money with their practice. Our work is several subtle contributions to an overall narrative. The narrative being that of an artist (us) trying to make themselves 'sellable' but failing. The works themselves will come in the form of a postcard rack full of postcards of our previous works, a monitor which has a Sid and Jim advert/explainer video of our artistic practice that's made by someone on the website fiverr, an abandoned signing table of signed photos of the Sid and Jim stock image with a roll out ad board with the same image on it and then a crumpled up (but still visible) artist cv on the ground. These are then distributed throughout the space as opposed to being in one place; similar to a trail of breadcrumbs. The general thinking is that it's a variety of failed attempt to be successful/noticed; making postcards which haven't sold, a film which is supposed to act as a promotional tool but just seems impersonal and weird, a sort of fan meet up where no one showed and a cv that never got a the owner a job which has consequently been discarded. It opens tomorrow so will post images when we get them!
We’re also starting on a new film with a similar link to implied narratives. It’s going to be about film props and how they’re used, the script is just about done but we need to decide on what films to use and when since it’s going to be made up of many shorts clips/examples from other films with a voiceover.
