Multichannel, Millais Gallery, Southampton

Dates: 18 April-31 May 2008

Abstract:

Invited to exhibit three films in Multichannel. This exhibition saw a diverse and imaginative range of works by artists selected by Helen Sloan of SCAN and Peter Bonnell, formerly co-curator of ArtSway. Multichannel features artists who use film, video and animation as a primary part of their practice, although it may be incorporated into installation, public artworks and works in other media. Featuring works from the UK, Europe and United States, all the works examine how the material of film, video and animation enhance the creative process and the exhibition of visual arts.

When this exhibition first showed at ArtSway in September 2007, a discussion and q&a, chaired by Helen Sloan of SCAN took place and focussed on a debate around forms of moving image work that are shown in galleries. Multichannel was supported by ArtSway, SCAN and The Millais.

This exhibition was shown on a loop alongside other artists’ work, and featured three films from the Unfairground Series, ‘Mad Dog’, ‘Tiago’s Sequence’ and ‘Maggie CU’. ‘The Unfairground Ride films were directed by Lizzie Sykes and performed by Tiago Gambogi and Maggi Swallow of FAB: The Detonators in a project supported by Arts Council England (National Touring Bid). Unfairground Ride is a collection of short ‘visual explosions’, using a spherical camera designed and patented by Lizzie Sykes. It’s a wide angle, wireless camera designed to directly question ideas around traditional roles of director and performer. In these works, the camera is held by the dancer. The result is intimate, absurd and refers to early cinema and mime. There are no edits.. this is a performance with film. The devising process demanded an innovative, collaborative approach fusing the vocabulary and experience of a filmmaker and that of a dancer/choreographer. Together we created movements and sequences for use with the ‘ballcam’.

To view these works, go to vimeo.com/lizziesykes To view stills from the ‘Unfairground Ride’ series see http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizziesykes/sets/72157618830247751/

Source: Manual

Preferred by: Lizzie Sykes