26 June – 26 July 2015
Fridays 12.00 – 17.00 and Saturdays 10.00 – 13.00, Or by appointment
Free
A SMALL GROUP OF IDIOTS SPOILING IT FOR EVERY ONE ELSE
Idiots
‘A small group of idiots spoiling it for everyone else’ is a phrase often heard via football commentators after a game has been interrupted by hooliganism. Similarly it can be heard coming from police spokespeople during press conferences after a peaceful demonstration has descended into violence. It could be said that the phrase exists within a common consciousness. In both of the contexts above it is used to dispel the idea that a larger group of people could be collectively driven to violence.
In this instance the phrase is used in the context of artists and their work, and the idea that artists might make the decision to exist outside of the conditioned world and in doing so somehow spoil the equilibrium of humanity by throwing into focus the many systems of control, order and constraint that permeate our everyday lives, and raise questions about the way we allow ourselves to be controlled. Used here the phrase also questions arts obsession with communities, class tourism, political contexts and immersion.
The two animations in this exhibition do not refer explicitly to the title, rather they operate alongside it as representations of artistic traditions; landscape and figure drawing. Artistic frameworks that are easily interpreted. These and the other elements in the exhibition; the space, the projectors, the screen, the repetitive knocking soundtrack, the sound of the projectors, the invigilators, all function as an interruption into the exhibitions broader context of the shops, the building, the people in the building, the city, the people in the city, the north of England, etc.
Gostins Arcade 32-36, Hanover Street, Liverpool L1 4LN