As the UK whirls into the vortex, The London Group plunges into the darkness of a blacked out Cello Factory in its latest experimental show : In the Dark.
Curated by Genetic Moo this show combines the members’ work with friends from the Computer Arts Society and Lumen Prize. The one stipulation for the artworks in the show is that they generate their own light (for example using projection) or can be illuminated by other works (ie projected onto). This simple rule alone has meant the works are interlinked in ways not seen before turning the whole group exhibition into an installation of sorts, filling all surfaces of the unique space including the ceiling. Collaborations and works spilling over onto other works are welcomed.
Both the Computer Arts Society and Lumen Prize organisations include digital art experts whose pixels and data naturally lend themselves to projection and collaboration. Some works have been specifically designed as collaborative. Light boxes by Sean Clark consists of Raspberry Pi’s and flat screen monitors embedded in a light box. Each of the three boxes by Clark, Ernest Edmonds and Genetic Moo periodically send and receive signals to each other through local wifi, using the incoming data to adapt their own visual configurations. The system is designed to be expandable with three more artists due to join the network in future shows. This piece and others by Clark and Edmonds expand upon their conversations going back decades about simple connected art, where the artwork emerges from a system rather than directly from the artist.
Elsewhere other artists have collaborated in an Exquisite Corpse video mash-up which involves 5 artists adding to and editing short sequences of each others’ work. This idea was introduced by Bryan Benge and is an ongoing work. As any edit can radically alter the nature of the film we are yet to see how it will turn out.
Lumen Prize will be showcasing films on the theme of Worlds We Make by a selection of their artists and have commissioned their 2018 winning student artist Ziwei Wu to make a new furry installation in the upstairs room. This should be a fluffy antidote to the darkness below.
Several works touch on the idea of death or decay, in particular Angela Eames’ dying planets, Eric Fong’s forensic photographs, and Amanda Loomes’ Memento Mori for a TV whose fractured surface forms the poster for the show. Clive Burton is offering the audience the chance to blindfold themselves or is the suspended black cloche more sinister? Do these grim pieces reflect the current mood or are they natural responses to the call In the Dark? Several circular / vorticist pieces projected up onto the Cello Factory’s ceiling with a firmament of digital glow flies by Genetic Moo and Twitter storms by Sandra Crisp will create a dynamic and apocalyptical top half to the show. End of days indeed.
The show is on for 3 days only, with a performance led PV night, followed by a day of workshops, talks and music.
PV Thursday 17th 6-8pm with three performance artists; Birgitta Hosea, Fay Barnett & Fanny Cox.
Worlds We Make
In the Dark includes a curated showreel by Lumen Prize. From manipulating landscapes for industry, to changing the nature of the food we eat, Lumen Projects presents a curated selection of Artists Short Films that ask you to re-evaluate our environment and its future. Lumen Art Projects celebrates the very best art created with technology through a global competition, exhibitions and seminars. Lumen is dedicated to creating opportunities for its artists by engaging with communities, art venues and academic institutions globally.
| Duration | 17 January 2019 - 19 January 2019 |
| Times | 2 – 6pm |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | The Cello Factory |
| Address | 33-34 Cornwall Road, London, SE1 8TJ |
| Contact | / info@alexanderhinks.com / www.thecellofactory.com |