Two exhibitions
dal 20/6/2013 al 20/7/2013
Segnalato da
20/6/2013
Two exhibitions
Modern Art Oxford, Oxford
Stephen Willats: Conscious - Unconscious / Terry Smith: Beacon 2002
Willats's visually intense works explore the nature of human interaction, communication and connection between individuals and communities. His solo exhibition Conscious - Unconscious examined social interaction, the influence of technology on daily life and the way we look at and think about our surroundings. The Oxford Community Data Stream - a new commission which was part of Stephen's fourth solo show at the gallery - will continue in the Lower Gallery until 31 July. This new commission presents alternative and highly personal perspectives on life in Oxford through a collaboration with residents of Kennington and Blackbird Leys. The final work is shown in three parts; at the gallery and also in each of the participant neighbourhoods positioned in the window of the Agnes Smith Advice Centre at Blackbird Leys, and in the foyer of the Kennington Village Hall. Beacon, (2002) by Terry Smith shows five street lamps flickering into life at the onset of dusk. Filmed from the artist's studio, the work is a delicately witty inversion of a natural dawn chorus. Birds are replaced by the halogen glow of urban lighting, and the promise of a new day exchanged for the suggestion of synthetically extended activity of the night. The background hum that each light emits is artificially reproduced by Smith with an electric piano chord to form a set of five individual notes. As the 'voice' of each bulb is engaged, they form a quintet of electric fizz that welcomes in the evening. The work is a careful, micro-celebration of urban life.