9 July 2009 to 16 Aug 2009
Thursday & Friday 11am-3pm
Saturday & Sunday 11am - 6pm
176
176 Prince of Wales Road
Chalk Farm
NW5 3PT
London
London
United Kingdom
Europe
p: +44 (0) 20 7428 8940
m:
f: +44 (0) 20 7 428 8949
w: www.projectspace176.com
A Tradition I Do Not Mean To Break New audiovisual work by David Blandy, Henry Coombes and Tereza Bušková, plus works from the Zabludowicz Collection 9 July – 16 August 2009
David Blandy (UK, 1976) Henry Coombes (UK, 1977) Tereza Bušková (Czech Republic, 1978)
176 is pleased to announce A Tradition I Do Not Mean To Break, an exhibition of new audiovisual work made with the support of the Zabludowicz Collection. New films by David Blandy, Henry Coombes and Tereza Bušková will be presented alongside works, by the same artists, from the Zabludowicz Collection. Continuing this year’s focus on music and folklore at 176, Blandy, Coombes and Bušková each engage with a particular cultural subject with which they have strongly identified, reconfiguring it in striking ways. Linked as much by the artists’ interests in examining historical figures as by their sensitivity to myth, custom and symbolism, the works in A Tradition I Do Not Mean To Break share a rich filmic aesthetic that variously borders on the gothic, the melancholic and the opulent. The exhibition will also feature specially commissioned performances by each of the artists.
Tereza Bušková’s Super 8mm film Spring Equinox (2009) explores the traditional rites of spring in the Czech Republic, the artist’s country of origin. The film depicts stylized tableaux vivants and choreographies inspired by Moravian fertility rituals and traditional dress. For Spring Equinox, Bušková has collaborated with the Czech performing arts company Nanohach, pioneering electric cellist Bela Emerson, and continues her ongoing creative relationship with actress and playwright Zoë Simon. Exploring practices of dress and masquerade as well as pagan rituals and alternative cosmologies, Bušková’s works are often rendered in highly theatrical and constructed ways, with elaborate mise-en-scènes, props and costumes.
Henry Coombes’s Super 16mm film The Bedfords (2008) combines historical references with rich psychological subtext. The work is inspired by events in the life of the English painter Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873), with whom the artist has a strong affinity. Focusing on Landseer’s relationship with the Duke of Bedford, an important patron of his art, and his rumored affair with Bedford’s wife, the film imagines one of the painter’s visits to the Bedford’s estate to complete a portrait commission, and the ensuing hunting party and family relationships, shot through with surreal scenes and heavily loaded dialogue.
David Blandy’s film installation Crossroads (2008) grew out of the artist’s interest in excavating the myth of Robert Johnson. The legendary blues guitarist and singer is said to have gained his extraordinary skills after selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads at nightfall, yet he died aged 33 with an output of only 29 recorded songs. The mystique surrounding Johnson’s fate is compounded by his three gravestones and the murkiness of any historical account of his life. Blandy’s identification with Johnson led him to visit the musician’s gravestones and re-enact popular clichés associated with blues music and the deep South including presenting himself at the crossroads at sundown. Crossroads offers a series of archetypal tableaux, exquisitely shot in high definition. The installation includes a replica shack that alludes to the informal dwellings in the South of the USA, complete with a porch and rocking chair from which to view the film.
• Crossroads is an Arts Council England National Touring Commission initiated by Spike Island and supported by 176, Zabludowicz Collection. It will be shown at Turner Contemporary, Margate, 4 April - 14 June, before coming to 176. • Spring Equinox was enabled by 176’s support-in-kind as an exhibition venue and supported by the Arts Council England, The Czech Centre and Shaw and Co Solicitors. • The Bedfords is supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen, Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow and South West Screen Commission. • 176 editions: each of the artists in the show will produce a limited edition artwork as part of the ongoing series of 176 editions, proceeds from the sales of which are split between the artist and 176’s education programme.
Forthcoming programme at 176:
Wolfgang Tillmans: Works from the Zabludowicz Collection 10 September – 13 December Showing the Zabludowicz Collection’s holdings of works by Tillmans, including photography, video and installation produced between 1997 and 2009.
176 visitor information
Address: 176, Prince of Wales Road, London, NW5 3PT Opening hours: Thursday & Friday 11am-3pm, Saturday & Sunday 11am-6pm Admission: Free Entrance Annual membership is £5 and gives priority booking for events and discount in the 176 shop and café. Shop: 176 produces and sells limited edition artwork and publications and sells an expanding range of design objects. Proceeds from editions are split between the artists and 176’s education programme. Café: The Café at 176 serves tea, coffee, cakes and sandwiches during gallery opening hours.
The Library and Resource Room can be booked by members of the public to research artists and view audiovisual work from the Zabludowicz Collection. Transport links: Chalk Farm Underground & Kentish Town West Overground Stations, 3 minutes. Contact telephone: +44 (0)20 7428 8940 Contact email: info @ projectspace176.com Website: www.projectspace176.com
