19/5/2006
You us or you me
Spacex, Exeter
The artists will be producing a new body of work which will be showcased at the gallery and then tour internationally to Ljubljana and M+R Gallery, London. A series of staged photographs and video clips will show how Nina and Marie set up different abstract games for groups of people to play out.
Nina Jan Beier and Marie Jan Lund
Nina Jan Beier and Marie Jan Lund create situations with their own sets of
rules and document the consequences that ensue for the people they drag in.
For example, they might ask everyone to stand in a group and button their
coat to the person next to them; or invite local residents to come to the
gallery dressed as either Nina or Marie and sing songs.
Nina Jan Beier and Marie Jan Lund are founders of Janfamily, a collaborative
artist's group based in London. Janfamily is a platform for individual
artists who take on the middle name "Jan¹ to signal a relation.
"We are Janfamily. Each of us and all of us are called Jan. We are related
but come from different places.
We speak in individual voices, together, we speak up".
For Spacex the artists will be producing a new body of work which will be
showcased at the gallery and then tour internationally to Ljubljana and M+R
Gallery, London. A series of staged photographs and video clips will show
how Nina and Marie set up different abstract games for groups of people to
play out. They will spend two weeks at Spacex initiating activities with
people in Exeter and producing a new filmwork commission which will be added
to the exhibition for its duration. Each situation has its own internal
logic and set of rules that reveals itself to the participants as they
launch into the tasks. They all appeal to the spirit of collaboration, be it
asking a group of people who are blindfolded to place themselves according
to height; or asking people to breathe onto sheets of paper in front of
their faces at the breakfast table.
"We try to instigate situations with different defined groups of people
that somehow challenge their definition and
create tension between their sense of self and the social instinct that
keep them united."
Nina and Marie, both from Denmark, met studying at the Royal College of Art.
Nina Jan Beier and Marie Jan Lund have recently shown at Blackblock in
Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Queenssnailsannex, San Fransisco; and M+R Gallery
London. They have been featured by Art Forum.com, Flavorpill, ArtReview,
Portfolio, Idea Magazine Tokyo and Le Monde.
Playing with social customs, the artists manipulate their subjects with the
authority of the camera. The situations both lean against and detach
themselves from everyday life and the artists let us observe instinctive
human reactions and relations as they play out in the simplest forms. Their
work is not media-specific but is tied together by a common approach based
on their personal fascination with group dynamics, a study of identity and
the pursuit of collectivism.
"The exhibition title "You us or you me", refers to the situation where you
aren't sure if the "You' includes only you
or you and your partner/group. We are interested in this field where the
individual ends and the group begins."
Following the award of a Danish Arts Council "Talent Grant¹, Nina and Marie
will be launching a DVD publication at Spacex. Nina and Marie have also
previously shown at V1 Gallery, Copenhagen; A+M, Milan; Lungomare, Bolzano;
Uniondocs, New York; Display Gallery, Prague; Space Gallery, Bratislava;
Queensnailsannex, San Francisco, Sundown Saloon, Los Angeles and Royal
College of Art, London. Their publications include Plans for Other Days, How
These Things Live and You Like Me. The art book publisher, Booth-Clibborn
Editions, among others known for publishing books by Damien Hirst, Chicks on
Speed and Futura has chosen Plans for Other Days as their flagship
publication this year. Further information is available at http://www.ninajanbeier-mariejanlund.com
Specex
45 Preston Street - Exeter
Open Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm, admission free