6/2/2014
Fading films/fading frames: a transition
Upominki, Rotterdam
The exhibition brings together three young Brussels-based artists whose works explore the relationships of interdependence and transfer between different media formats: Mathieu Gargam, Noe' Grenier and Sophie Valero.
Mathieu Gargam (FR), Noé Grenier (FR) and Sophie Valero (FR)
fading films/fading frames: a transition brings together three young Brussels-based artists whose works explore the relationships of interdependence and transfer between different media formats. In particular, the project navigates the chemical and the electrical currents exchanged between digital and analogue media, and questions how format and context of use, might bring added layers of meaning to an object. Yet the 're-descriptions' and format couplings we present here are far from nostalgic. Thus their aim is to challenge the viewers, asking them to rethink the way they have been educated to think about images and their bonds with different media formats. This is especially relevant in the era of the Internet with its social networks and search engines, an age in which our contacts with technology and media are profoundly being disrupted.
From the ground floor to the basement of Upominki, Mathieu Gargam, Noé Grenier and Sophie Valero present a collection of videos, photographs and sculptural installations. fading films/fading frames : a transition offers a path between past and future images. Today, filmographic mediums no longer depend on chemical or magnetic reactions, but consist of encoded language and data flow. It is inevitable that these changes have repercussions on the image itself and on the way images are being spread and archived. For instance, the digital format has raised a lot of questions regarding medium-term and long-term durability. Although this system has brought about a huge democratization of production tools, its development has been rash at times and the obsolescence it entails is in need of a thorough interrogation.
Starting in the late 1990's, analogue technologies have been on the decline, while electronic and computing technologies have gained an important role in our everyday lives. The development of the Internet, search engines and social networks; of a new constellation of sources and links, has started to alter our archives and thus the way we relate to the past. New ways to pass on our memories, to be an author, a reader or a witness, are springing into life. Yet, we still need to explore the full impact these changes will have on our modes of thinking. fading films/fading frames : a transition creates new paths for reflection, new mutations of our neural connections. It is important to connect to these networks, as they imply much more than a simple collections of images. They express a new navigational and organizational system of our knowledge, thoughts and views.
Upominki is a non-profit artist run space that does not scream by means of its presence, but subtly points to the things that really matter. Through simple gestures Upominki wishes to stimulate people’s awareness for new possibilities and encourage them towards a daily activity of both making and seeing art, it also aims at always creating new situations through which art and life can connect.
Opening: Friday 7th February at 19:00 - 22:00
Upominki
Kapelstraat 32 3024 CH Rotterdam Netherland
regular opening hours Tue, Thu-Fri 10:00-15:00
during Art Rotterdam week: 8th and 9th February 12:00-17:00h