Mark Boulos, Dwight Clarke, Stephen Connolly, Ben Rivers, Stephen Sutcliffe
28 March – 10 May 2008 Bloomberg SPACE, 50 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1HD Open Monday to Saturday 11am – 6pm Late Thursday 3 April till 9pm and Thursday 1 May till 9pm
Bloomberg SPACE presents a new generation of contemporary film and video makers – Mark Boulos, Dwight Clarke, Stephen Connolly, Ben Rivers and Stephen Sutcliffe – representing a shared moment in current practice.
Description and portrayal are central concerns for this group of filmmakers. Morrissey broadcast on the P.A. system in the supermarket; the story of a man searching for an identity; a sudden prank in a schoolroom; the desert as a backdrop for conversation and reflection; a collision between 60’s optimism and 70’s space rock; an unidentified crowd; a prayer - carefully considered and beautifully crafted all these works tell a story of some kind and can be characterised by a shared sensibility and strong relationship to the mode of ‘documentary’. Yet the sense of ‘real life’ that we associate with documentary is countered by the clearly subjective nature of some of the works. The camera does not only report but breaks expectation to seek and explore hidden details.
Projections circulate around a central seating bank in the main gallery at Bloomberg SPACE. Within all the works the artists’ direct need to represent, to tell a tale, to portray a person or persons is palpable.
People talk to camera, often to give personal accounts. Mark Boulos’ old man walks up a hill with his gnarled stick supporting him, and then talks openly and informally to camera about faith and the approach of his death. In Stephen Connolly’s Film for Tom another man is seen going about his everyday rituals of thinking and doing, in search of an identity. Stephen Sutcliffe’s Transformations shows an elderly woman walking through a wood. She and a man, who works on a basic lathe, seem to represent another time whilst alluding to the present. Uniquely, there is a clever shift in all these films between possible nostalgia and current reportage.
An introductory essay by Gareth Evans, critic and Editor, Vertigo magazine is available on request.
