Vitrine Gallery, Bermondsey Square, London
Fri 29 July – Sun 04 Sep 2011.
Daily 24‐hour. FREE.
Preview: Thursday 28 July 2011. 6‐10pm.
Vitrine Gallery presents The Doors of Perspection, an exhibition of new digital collage works by Vicki Bennett. The works are created using a unique technique developed by Bennett to expand film scenes beyond their conventional screen ratio. The finished results reveal beautiful panoramic views of the background landscapes as captured by the panning camera, effectively allowing film scenes to be seen as never before.
Bennett’s new works bear a relation to the British Vorticism movement of the early 20th Century, taking a Futurist approach to image making whilst attempting to capture dynamic movement with still images. Bennett often utilises digital technology to apply analogue techniques and for more than a decade has used rotoscoping in her short films and live audio‐visual performance to mask, cut and place objects elsewhere on screen. During her commission for The Great North Run Cultural Programme 2009 she developed the process for expanding film outside its frame and began work on this new series shortly after.
This exhibition not only features large prints for sale on site at Vitrine Gallery, but also a special print edition featured here:
https://peoplelikeus.org/2011/print-edition-by-vicki-bennett/
Title: Streetwalking
Medium: C-Type Print on Matt Fuji Archive Paper
Dimensions: 914mm x 321mm
Year: 2011
Edition: 100 + 5 A/Ps
Title: In Retrospect
Medium: C-Type Print on Matt Fuji Archive Paper
Dimensions: 671mm x 392mm
Year: 2011
Edition: 100 + 5 A/Ps
Co-published by Modern Empire and Vitrine Gallery
Bennett is renowned for her audio‐visual collage, successfully releasing albums and touring her live performances under the name People Like Us since the early 1990s. Her Surrealist approach to creating moving image work involves subverting elements of found footage in order to create new meanings and connections. This is reflected in the titles of her works, albums and exhibitions, where letters slip around and one slight twist can create an absurd change of meaning.
The Doors of Perspection is curated by Iain Pate. The exhibition is commissioned by Touch.
Since 1991, British artist Vicki Bennett has been an influential figure in the field of audio‐visual collage, through her innovative sampling, appropriating and cutting up of found footage and archives. Using collage as her main form of expression, she creates audio recordings, films and radio shows that communicate a humorous, dark and often surreal view on life. These collages mix, manipulate and rework original sources from both the experimental and popular worlds of music, film, television and radio. People Like Us believe in open access to archives for creative use, and have made work using footage from the Prelinger Archives, The Internet Archive, and A/V Geeks. In 2006 she was the first artist to be given unrestricted access to the entire BBC Archive. People Like Us have previously shown work at Tate Modern, Barbican, Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Centre and Sonar, and performed radio sessions for John Peel and Mixing It. The ongoing sound art radio show ‘DO or DIY’ on WFMU has had over a million listen again downloads since 2003. The People Like Us back catalogue is available for free download hosted by UbuWeb.
People Like Us are currently touring their live audio‐visual set ‘Genre Collage’ and a new album, ‘Welcome Abroad’ was released on Illegal Art in May 2011.
Preview Event: Thursday 28 July 2011. 6‐10pm. Shortwave Cinema, Bermondsey Square. FREE.
A collection of short films by Vicki Bennett/People Like Us ‐ including Excerpts from “Genre Collage” ‐ will be screened on loop throughout the evening, with an introduction by the artist at 7pm. There will also be musical accompaniment provided by Osymyso and Mainwaring & Jurgensen in the bar.
Full list of films being screened at the Preview Event ONLY:
“Burning” [1999]
“Discovering Electronic Music” [1999]
“Music Of Your Own” [1999]
“We Edit Life” [2002]
“Nothing” [2003]
“The Remote Controller” [2003]
“Resemblage” [2004]
“Story Without End” [2005]
“Trying Things Out” [2007]
“Live Excerpts” [2002-2007]
“Work, Rest & Play” [2007]
“Skew Gardens” [2008]
“Parade” [2009]
“Mull of Kintyre” (with Ergo Phizmiz) [2010]
Excerpts from “Genre Collage” [2009/10]
“The Keystone Cut Ups” (with Ergo Phizmiz) [2010]
“2’00” The Movie” [2011]
VITRINE GALLERY Bermondsey Square, London SE1 3UN (tube: London Bridge) www.vitrinegallery.co.uk
Review: http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/news/vicki-bennett-the-doors-of-perspection-preview-report/9758
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-doors-of-perspection–picture-preview-2328362.html