Manon de Boer
dal 2/12/2010 al 22/1/2011
Segnalato da
2/12/2010
Manon de Boer
South London Gallery SLG, London
Framed in an open window. Situated at the intersection of cinema and art film-making, de Boer's works explore the nature, impact and nuances of memory. Her technique combines a documentary approach with a subtle editing process and an acute attention to sound in relation to image. The exhibition include the world premiere of Think about Wood, Think about Metal, which takes the percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky as its subject.
The South London Gallery presents the first UK exhibition by Dutch artist Manon de Boer, bringing together a selection of works from recent years and a new work, Dissonant, 2010. A parallel selection of de Boer’s longer films are featured in a series of one-off screenings including the world premiere of Think about Wood, Think about Metal, 2011, which takes the percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky as its subject.
Using 35mm and 16mm film, de Boer’s works explore the nature, impact and nuances of memory. Her technique combines a documentary approach with a subtle editing process and an acute attention to sound in relation to image. Some of her films focus on individuals recounting their recollections, such as Sylvia Kristel-Paris, 2003, which examines the position of the subject and spectator within a described reality, questioning the representation of truth in storytelling. The works brought together in this exhibition explore aspects of stillness and movement, and the relationship between the two.
Situated at the intersection of cinema and art film-making, de Boer’s cinematography inverts the rules of formal cinematic composition. Through her editing, often dictated by music, voice or silence, the sound of breath or steps, she suggests the existence of another space, one which expands beyond the image itself and is comprised of sensations. Dissonant, 2010, for example, shows dancer Cynthia Loemij (from Rosas, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s company) performing a 10-minute response to Eugène Ysayë’s Three Sonatas for Violin. Here the dominance of sound over image is emphasised through moments in which the screen goes blank but the soundtrack continues as the artist changes reels.
Two Times 4’33”, 2008, depicts Jean-Luc Fafchamps performing the famous musical work by John Cage twice. First the musician is filmed performing the piece and then the camera shifts to capture the reactions of the audience as they listen. In this way the work offers a double interpretation of the performance, revealing the impossibility of accurate objective representation, just as Cage’s composition demonstrated the impossibility of absolute silence.
De Boer’s interest in avant-garde music, dance, literature, film and other conceptual artistic productions stems from her fascination with the 60s and 70s. De Boer is drawn to this era when “celebration of a certain artistic freedom” thrived in parallel to the radical political. The choice of actors, dancers and musicians as her subjects stems from her proximity to the dance and music scenes in Brussels where she lives.
Please note that due to the screening programme two works - Presto Perfect Sound and Two Times 4’33” - will not be on view on Wednesdays from 6-9pm.
Screenings
This series presents the works in de Boer’s trilogy on the 1970s.
8 December 2010, 7pm, Free
Sylvia Kristel-Paris, 2003, Super 8 transferred to video, 40’
This film is about Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel who played the role of Emmanuelle in the 1974 erotic film of the same name. De Boer’s film, featuring long shots of the streets of Paris, recounts the story of Kristel’s career.
15 December 2010, 7pm, Free
Resonating Surfaces, 2005, 16mm transferred to video, 39’
Resonating Surfaces presents Suely Rolnik, Brazilian art historian and psychoanalyst, talking about her years in Brazil under the military regime and the time she spent in Paris, including her involvement with Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. Shots of her recounting her story alternate with views of the city of São Paulo.
5 January 2011, 7pm, £5/£3 concessions
Think about Wood, Think about Metal, 2011, 16mm transferred to digibetacam and HDVcam, 45’ TBC
This new film shown for the first time is about percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky.
Followed by a discussion between the artist and writer and critic Lars Bang Larsen.
Manon de Boer was born in Kodaikanal, India in 1966. She currently lives and works in Brussels. Her recent solo exhibitions include The Time That is Left, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 2008; Witte the With, Rotterdam, 2008; Dissonant, Jan Mot, Brussels, 2010. Her films are presented at international film festivals such as the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2010. Her film Dissonant is currently showing at the 20th São Paulo biennale: A Cup of Sea to Sail In. Her work also spans photography and sound installations.
The exhibition is supported by the Mondriaan Foundation and The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
South London Gallery
65 Peckham Road
London SE5 8UH
Gallery open Tuesday – Sunday 11-6pm, except Wednesdays until 9pm. Closed Mondays.
Tube: Victoria or Oval then bus 36/436 towards Lewisham/New Cross
Or London Bridge then bus 343 to Southampton Way
Or Elephant & Castle then bus 171/12
Rail: Peckham Rye, 10 mins walk to the SLG
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