OPEN ONLINE
Shortlisted artists
George Barber (England)
J R Carpenter (England)
Rowan Corkill (Scotland)
Sarrita Hunn (USA)
Garry Hunter (England)
Jaykoe (England)
Lina Kruopyte (Lithuania)
Adeniyi Odeleye (Nigeria)
Richard O’Sullivan (Wales)
Introduction
Fermynwoods is pleased to present work by 9 artists who have each responded to the new possibilities opened up by the Internet a creative way, particularly in terms of finding new ways of thinking, making, engaging and interacting with art. The work includes videos and websites that play with notions of what is real, merging documentary with fiction; striking photographs with compelling narratives; simple lines and forms that flow and dance across the screen; and textual pieces that evoke a strong sense of place.
Each work addresses our relationship to our surroundings, whether this is through an investigation into our understanding of the natural or urban environment, from a social or political perspective or an artistic concern.
George Barber’s video Welcome asks if we have invited global warming as a guest into our home and City Distortions by Jaykoe reflects on the possible future of global cities. Both works appropriate found footage from the Internet, TV or familiar iconography used in Hollywood films to explore questions around climate change and the impact of city life.
In Ferndale, Western Canyon, Los Angeles, Richard O’Sullivan alternates negative footage with positive stills and uses recorded sound to reveal the mediated nature of what we often regard as the natural environment. Through his photographic series, Shifting Realities, Adeniyi Odeleye is using the Internet to tell an important local story; he refers to the Nigerian tendency to find temporary, easy solutions to the lack of basic infrastructure in the country, which is hindering development. Portrait of a species by Rowan Corkill depicts man as a dominant predator and highlights our lost relationship with the natural world and other species.
We are invited to navigate through J. R. Carpenter’s website. Presenting found data alongside family photographs; The Cape portrays our inclination to re-interpret childhood memories of places and events through the creation of new stories. Are you alive? by Lina Kruopyte is a seemingly interactive work that invites the viewer to make choices, but the questions are based on familiar slogans and do not produce satisfying answers. Garry Hunter’s work addresses the excess of images that surround us in both the real and virtual worlds. Rather than presenting more images for us to consume, ImaginedStates encourages us to imagine our own scenes in response to his poetic texts. Sarrita Hunn takes the viewer on an aesthetic exploration of space; 99×9.2 was created from 99 individual drawings, each one relating to the size and number of the artist’s sketchbook pages.
Most of this work is new and often forms part of an ongoing area of exploration or focus of interest for the artist, reflecting the transient nature of the Internet, as a place for research and documentation of ongoing activity.
Each artist has written a brief synopsis of their work and we invite you to respond with your thoughts.
