BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3413@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20180414T000000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20180414T000000 DTSTAMP:20180413T164910Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/the-trophy-room-watch-in-a-brigh t-room-and-at-a-safe-distance-from-the-tv/ SUMMARY:The Trophy Room Liverpool L8 5SD: The Trophy Room: Watch in a brigh t room and at a safe distance from the TV DESCRIPTION:Watch in a bright room and at a safe distance from the TV!\nAgi l Abdullayev &\; Wendy Asumadu\nCurated by Harry Meadley\n\nIn 1997 an episode of Pokémon was televised in Japan which featured rapid flickerin g red and blue frames which caused hundreds of children to have seizures\, and in some cases epileptic fits. 685 were hospitalised. The phenomenon w as widely known as Pokémon Shock. Though the footage itself was partly to blame for this\, it was also exacerbated by the fact many were watching t he episode close to their screens in dark rooms thus intensifying the stro bing effect. Following this event\, many animes\, and some still to this d ay\, display a message at the start which reads:\n\nWatch in a bright room and at a safe distance from the TV!\n\nIn considering the accessibility a nd advantage that internet based video platforms offer to artists working in digital video in order to share their work\; what is often overlooked i s the sometimes un-ideal\, and arguably unhealthy\, setting in which such things are then being watched: on a laptop in bed\, on an office computer\ , on a mobile phone… putting eye strain aside\, what is common with thes e scenarios is that it is usually either being done alone\, surrounded by distractions\, or lost amongst a barrage of content.\n\nThis exhibition\, which will follow its titular instruction\, simply seeks to present new vi deo works by both Agil Abdullayev and Wendy Asumadu in a clear\, concentra ted  environment.\n\nAgil Abdullayev\n\nMy practice attempts to examine the contrasts between the East and the West\, related to the subjects such as femininity and masculinity\, public life and private life\, human righ ts and politics\, and bridging the spaces between these subjects.\n\nPolit ics doesn’t seem to escape people like me. Every artist like me is polit ical\, in one form or another. Politics have defined our lives\, as a quee r man living in Azerbaijan\, facing censorship\, harassment\, arrest or to rture. Although while I live outside my hometown\, Azerbaijan and experien cing the pain of the separation from my family and loved ones\, only in th e West I have a privilege of being free to inspire\, to provoke\, to mobil ize\, and to bring hope to my people. I took a position of the reporter of my people and communicators to the outside world. Art has become my own l uxury to tell the truth.\n\nI work with a variety of materials to fabricat e my ideas\, centred at moving image through filming in green screen and u sing pop culture gifs and social media aesthetics\, I exhibit my works in single or multiple channel video installation.\n\n-\n\nWendy Asumadu\n\nPr edominantly working in video\, photography and text\, my practice explores the journey to personal authenticity\, what it means to be yourself and f or me\, an artist. I’m interested in how we can explore elements of our identity\, upbringing and experiences\, to determine whether it is truly w ho we are\, or a construct of society.\n\nMy works usually derives from my own personal experience and are a manifestation of my memories and realit y. However\, I aim for the narrative to extend and connect to a wider audi ence. In some works\, I’ve focused on my family’s native language and my inability to speak it. I attempt to speak it with the help of my mother but I also question the importance of learning it since I was born\, rais ed in London and all that I really know is London. Do I want to learn it b ecause my parents say so or because I want to? What is important for me as an authentic individual? And how do we determine this?\n\nI like to use o ther people in my work\, have conversations and discuss how experiences th ey’ve had\, has constructed or is constructing their authentic being.\n\ nBy having these conversations\, I aim to put simply put some feelers out there for the audience to interpret themselves.\n\n-\n\nHarry Meadley\n\n ‘Wendy and Agil make super good work. It deserves attention and I’m ve ry honoured to have had the chance to consider how to present it – that is to say\, to just let the work speak for itself. I’m sure I’m slight ly biased in picking them as they both share similar interests to me in th e use of monologue and conversation as a mode of expression and examinatio n. Doing so\, however\, always comes from a unique and individual place\; and it is in the sharing of our experiences that often brings us all close r together.\n\nI was also only supposed to pick one artist but got greedy and wanted these two - as much as their works utilise speech\, prompt conv ersation\, and have something important to say\, I wanted to hear how the works talk to each other as well.’\n\nHarry Meadley is an artist born an d based in Leeds and was recently an artist-in-residence at ISCP (Internat ional Studio &\; Curatorial Programme)\, New York. He is a Liverpool Bi ennial Associate Artist and in 2017 presented the eight episode video work On the Bench commissioned by Up Projects for The Floating Cinema which to ured the waterways of South and East Yorkshire\, and North Lincolnshire in partnership with Hull City of Culture. He has exhibited at Eastside Proje cts\, Birmingham\; Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art\, Sunderland\; Dav id Dale Gallery\, Glasgow\; Annet Gelink Gallery\, Amsterdam\, amongst oth ers\; and performed at Bluecoat\, Liverpool\, and Jerwood Space\, London. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2018/04/HM-WA-AA_Exhibition_Poster_Final.png LOCATION:The Trophy Room Liverpool L8 5SD\, The Royal Standard\, Northern L ights\, Cains Brewery Village\, Grafton Street\, Liverpool\, L8 5SD\, Li verpool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.385606;-2.975741 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=The Royal Standard\, Northe rn Lights\, Cains Brewery Village\, Grafton Street\, Liverpool\, L8 5SD\ , Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Trophy Room Li verpool L8 5SD:geo:53.385606,-2.975741 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20180325T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR