UPDATE
The night was fascinating! With 26 projections at the most active point, the gallery was alive with light and an ever evolving soundtrack, layered, discordant but with strange moments of synchronicity. The atmosphere was full of conversation and an openness from all parties to discuss their work technically, conceptually and aesthetically. One piece that particularly stood out for me was Marko Wilkinson’s re-interpretation of Guy Sherwin’s performance Man with Mirror (1976/2006), Wilkinson had shot him and a female performer holding signs that instructed the audience (soon to become performers themselves) on how to take part in the piece by standing in front of the projector beam with a mirror and reflecting the beam as you see fit. This introduction of materialist film inspired interactive performance in to the context of the image driven BYOB framework was a fascinating counter point, placing human action at the centre of the experience of the image.The agency of the recorded image as call to act and engage now, rather than passively consume. I felt that Wilkinson’s piece successfully built on the foundations laid by Sherwin and it was positive to see the legacy of the London Filmmaker’s Co-Op in effect 30+ years later, encouraging critical engagement with the image and projector to open fresh possibilities for thought and reflection.
UPDATE ends
Delighted to be taking part in this event, here’s what the event organisers at Spike Island had to say:
Established by Rafaël Rozendaal in 2010, Bring Your Own Beamer is a worldwide series of one-night exhibitions celebrating visual noise and audio overspill. These freeform events host artists and their projectors, and anyone is invited to set up their own.
At Spike Island, you can come to watch or bring your own moving image work to take part. We’ll provide a plug socket and wall or ceiling space; you’ll need your films or videos, something to play them on and something to project them with.
Confirmed participants include artists from Bristol and beyond such as Laura Buckley, Matthew Noel-Tod and G39.
I will be screening the four collaborative works that I’ve made over the last year and Tom Long’s Truths (a collaboration with a man who possibly never existed). These works include:
14 Vulpine Nights with Mr Mead – who will be exhibiting with Last Rites gallery, New York, in their 13th Hour Group Show from 26th Oct 2012.
Orchestra in a Field with Ant Garratt – who has a gorgeous looking solo show opening with Thackeray gallery, London on 30th Oct 2012.
Defeated with Amy Timms – who is currently exhibiting in the RWA’s 160th Open Exhibition.
I’m very much looking forward to meeting the other artists and film makers, I see this night as one large collaborative piece which is why I’ve chosen to exhibit my collaborative works and find out what fresh moments these collisions will generate.