A Videocity exhibition took place in June/July in Unit 163 of the Grainger Market. It was co-curated by two of our committee members – Polina Chizhova and James Stephen Wright (along with fellow curator Andrea Domesle). The exhibition featured International artists including: !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Peter Aerschmann, Polina Chizhova and James Stephen Wright, Copa & Sordes, Christian Jankowski and Abi Palmer.
Playing with Rules was a public video art exhibition that presents artistic positions that challenge the status quo and question how society is constructed every day. In the presented works, the artists transcend invisible rules and laws of nature, making us question the architecture of what shapes the ‘normal’. Bringing video art outside the gallery into the more familiar environment of the Grainger Market, the exhibition also plays with the rules of how art is traditionally displayed.
The exhibition at the Grainger market took place in June/July this summer. Below is a short description of each video work. The videos were played in the same order as below:
In his iconic work ‘The Hunt’, the German artist Christian Jankowski hunts food in a supermarket with a bow and arrow, whereas the ‘A Skulk in London’ by James Stephen Wright and Polina Chizhova plays with how we understand and interact with the animal world around. ‘Surveillance Chess’ by !Mediengruppe Bitnik reverses power structures with a game of chess through a CCTV system and ‘Sputnik’ by Peter Aerschmann displaces the technologisation of space exploration with a focus on the materiality of waste produced by human civilisation – afterall, what if only crisps and cigarettes are left behind us? Finally in ‘Abi Palmer Invents the Weather (Heat)’, the artist recreates weather conditions for her cats – a DIY version of forces of nature, whilst Copa & Sordes invite a raven for a fine breakfast in ‘Raven’s Breakfast’.
The exhibition was supported by the Swiss Cultural Fund UK, Creative Central NCL, videokunst.ch and the Carola and Günther Ketterer Ertle Collection in Bern.
About Videocity:
Videocity is an international curator-artist network promoting video art in public spaces. It aims to discuss current social issues and connect art with everyday life. https://www.videocity.org/videocity Unlike classic monuments or other public artworks located in a city, presenting video art as a medium is a new technology-driven way to engage with audiences familiar with the digital world. The video art Videocity curates sheds new light on everyday environments, interplaying with the setting and the changing environment of public space. In turn, the exhibition location influences the way video works are experienced and perceived, with life becoming a soundtrack and framework.
Polina Chizhova
More information can be found here: https://www.videocity.org/grainger-market. The project also has an insta and a Facebook Page.
Friends of the Hatton 