Memory Evaporate

By Holly Willats

ottaContemporary has once again transformed the interior spaces of The Trafalgar Hotel with works by four young artists who, through use of found imagery, photography and analog film works, create surreal installations, exploring the moment of hesitation between the real and the fictional.

Sophie Turner, Feather Anchoring 2009, Sam Austen, All that is alive merely evaporates, 2009, Katherine Whittle-Williams, Flock, 2009, Richard Rawles, Beating Around The Bush 2008. (Click any image to enlarge it)

Whittle–Williams both reflects and confronts the limitations of photography as a medium. By reconfiguring and appropriating found imagery, she manipulates images into a reflective series that hopes to stimulate an awareness of time and space as a continuous entity beyond the work; reality is under question.

Meanwhile in the basement, Rawles explores an enchanted and twisted fairytale world of the lost or forgotten, the neglected or rejected and preconceptions and prejudices. His photographic series encompasses the space in enigmatic light, asking the viewer to look at the shadows that are left untouched. A response to urban landscapes that allow nature and beauty to rule and prevail, Rawles creates this fairytale world in order to question the validity and authority of these wisdoms of nature. By creating interplay between light and dark, Rawles emphasises a paradox that exists within the essence of nature.

Thirdly Austen, whose influences of early vaudeville cinema, surrealist films and analogue science fiction film, culminates in work that explores the ephemeral nature and physicality of analog filmmaking. Austen looks at a layered film making process by exposing sections of images over one another. Through illuminating psychedelic imagery the viewer is invited to permeate the borderline between the real and the imagined landscape and even question the possibility of mutation.

Sophie Turner’s installation allows physicality to challenge representation by merging found imagery, taxidermy and research-based methodologies with history from the Trafalgar area. Turner’s work looks at the notion of the objects tangible memory and through linking traditional craft’s such as taxidermy and cross stitch embroidery to moments of time, she questions how one can attempt to anchor such untangible moments and memory.

A fair amount to digest, which is why this is an exhibition that needs to be seen. So get down to Trafalgar Square and rather than waste time deliberating over the Gormley plinth – see some work that will really get your imagination going.

The Trafalgar

2 Spring Gardens Trafalgar Square London SW1 2TS

10 August – 10 October 2009

Get a Life

By Stephanie Grace

The fifth team of collaborators in the great “This Is Why We Meet” experiment are a group of “attention-grabbing” London College of Communications students who are wondering: just how far are people willing to go?

(Click any image to enlarge it)

After a few days of discussion and deliberation between the four LCC students, jotta caught up with them just as they are poised to put their plans into action.

The dream team from LCC includes Yana Naidenov, a second year graphic design student specalising in interaction and the moving image, her previous work has been centered around human interaction and collective performance. Eleanora D’Acci, also on graphic design, Eleanora has chosen the typography pathway, and is interested in ideas, researching and testing. Recent graduate of the graphic design course, Daniel Camacho's final piece for university explored ideas surrounding barriers, borders and the passing of time. While the fourth person in the puzzle, Catarina Chaby is currently studying sound art and design and iikes to experiment with new technology. Through her practice Catarina creates virtual spaces through sound as well as recording live music and bands.

jotta: What have you been up to over the last couple of days?
Yana: “Monday was a workshop at Liverpool Street station, in teams we stood at a distance from each other and attempted to communicate an idea to the other team using only paper, pens and string. It was really hard, because the ideas were so abstract (truth and lies) but we got there in the end.”
Daniel: “It was a good introduction into the way we might work together.”

jotta: What did you think of the previous groups work so far?
Daniel: “I think that because we got to see people’s response, we wanted to go a step ahead, a step further.”
Yana: “Even though the other teams windows were bright and colourful, people weren’t necessarily stopping.”
Eleanora: “We wanted people to stop, to grab their attention.”

jotta: How are you going to do that?
Katrina: “by using the space in between the two windows”
How did you come up with your idea?
Yana: “we wanted to use the idea of the window display to invite you in, that’s why were going to use mannequins”
Eleanora: “we wanted to use the language of the place, we didn’t want the concept to be too abstract or that it could have been made anywhere, brick lane is a place you go to shop. Its about space becoming a place.”

jotta: What ideas do you hope to explore through this project?
Daniel: This project is not only about collaboration or interaction. 'Get a life' aims to take the project one step further and explore human dialogues and social participation.

jotta: What can the audience expect on Monday when your installation goes live?
Daniel: “We want to give people a new experience”
Yana: “We're looking forward to have some fun with it and see the public reaction.”

So if you're in the Shoreditch area next week and bump into some interactive mannequins on the street, don’t say jotta didn’t warn you!

Display: Monday 10th- Sunday 17th August
Private view: Monday 10th August, 6-9pm
WK LONDON
16 HANBURY ST
LONDON
E1 6QR

Birds Eye View

Birds Eye View Film Festival

Kicking off this Thursday March 5th.

 

Words by Imogen Eveson

 

Whether you're male or female, feminist or otherwise, it would difficult for anybody to feel indifferent about the stark figure that only 7% of directors are women.

"The statistics are so shocking! 20% would be bad, but seven?!" exclaims Rachel Millward, founder of Birds Eye View, the world's first film festival that supports and celebrates women filmmakers.


Making micro-budget short films with Pinny Grylls led Rachel to the discovery of the galling statistic. "We were very aware of the lack of role models for us - it was really hard at the time to name more than one or 2 female directors. We wanted to create a platform for our peers - to encourage and promote. So we began BEV as a short film event at the end of 2002, then I pushed it forward into a festival for 2005."


Now in its fifth year, Birds Eye View is about to kick off again, with a week's worth of cinematic festivities taking place from the 5th - 13th March between the BFI, ICA and other London venues. The bill encompasses everything from feature length documentaries ("American Teen is a fantastic doc. It's proper laughing-crying entertaining - and heart-wrenching at the same time") to French comedy ("Grown Ups is a gorgeous feature - like reading a brilliant novel - characters you get to love...").With shorts coming in all shapes and sizes, from animation, documentary and drama by both UK and international directors. 
Innovation strand hosts high calibre films from the realms of music and fashion, providing a glimpse into the world of digital advertising. With journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer at the helm, Music Loves Video features the work of rising star Kinga Burza, Ali Taylor and Shelly Love.


Fashion Loves Film director Kathryn Ferguson has cherry-picked some fine sartorial flicks from Katerina Jebb for Givenchy, Sarah Chatfield for YSL, Toyin for Replay and Nick Knight's first assistant, Ruth Hogben.


Screen Seductresses: Vamps, Vixens & Femmes Fatales, is an intriguing event featuring Louise Brooks, Theda Bara, Greta Garbo and Alla Nazimova as the vampish protagonists of six silent films screened with specially commissioned live music from cutting edge female artists, such as Bishi. "I always love the live music - silent film stuff," enthuses Rachel. "Bishi is a phenomenal performer - she seriously kicks ass - I can't wait to see what she does with the film Salome. I imagine it will be hot hot hot."


A festival's focus is remarkable women from developing countries. "We have some amazing women filmmakers visiting for Q&As with their film screenings - from India (Goddesses, part of the Connecting Voices event) and Nigeria (giving us a guided tour of Nollywood), and from Afghanistan too. It's such a special opportunity to learn from women who are cutting it in film in very, very different situations from ours.."


Each year a theme is flagged up and debated at the festival and this time round the hot topic is sex on screen. Director Carine Adler, award-winning porn director Petra Joy, former Erotic Review editor Rowan Pelling, Coco de Mer's Sam Roddick and Mike Figgis will all be on hand for some steamy discussion as to how sex is portrayed in film when a woman takes control.


"I guess the main differences between men and women when approaching sex in film correlate to the differences between men and women when approaching sex in the bedroom," Rachel says. "You only have to watch a few Hollywood sex scenes to figure it's full of magic women who come on thrusting-cue and has very little to do with the clitoris. Watch a film like 'In the Cut' (Jane Campion directed and crucially written by a woman), and you find yourself shocked to see Mark Ruffalo go down on Meg Ryan. I'm no expert, but I don't think that's so unusual in real life, is it?!"

 

With such a scope and wealth of ideas, it's no surprise that Birds Eye has garnered the support of some famous faces; counting Joanna Lumley, Martha Fiennes and Juliet Stevenson as patrons. The late Anthony Minghella stated in 2005 how 'alarming and odd' it was that 'film is currently the preserve largely of white men.'


If the passionate team behind Birds Eye View have anything to do with it, this is changing. The festival will continue to inspire ideas and confidence in a new generation of female filmmakers and artists, or at the very least, make for a highly enjoyable few days (and nights, lest you forget Friday 13th's closing night party...)

Check out some Birds Eye View on jotta here

And the ful festival programme at www.birds-eye-view.co.uk.