Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Royal College of Art, London
13 March - 4 April
Reviewed by: Dan Wilkinson
Observing the political manipulation underlying recent events in Madrid, and the evidence used to justify last year's conflict in Iraq, it was difficult not to applaud the morbid topicality of this intelligent selection of crafted narratives and fictional strategies adopted by contemporary artists who attempt to explicitly disrupt the trustworthy reputation of the document.
'This much is certain', organised by final year curating students at the Royal College of Art, included an exhibition of work by fifteen international artists, screenings of rarely viewed documentary films, a publication and public talks designed to provided the audience with a multi-layered and, at times delightfully playful, revelation of the false leads and fakery inherent in documentary making.
Particularly resonant amongst the painstakingly researched examinations on display were Emily Jacir's From Texas with Love, a DVD of a one-hour road journey across George Bush's home state, punctuated by songs chosen by Palestinians as a fantasy soundtrack to be played on a similar but geographically impossible drive through their own country; and Memorandum: Bat Project 2000-2004, Huang Yongping's photographic installation detailing the political pressure he endured while attempting to reconstruct and exhibit a replica of the US spy plane captured and dismantled by the Chinese in 2001.
Other new work, including Kirsten Pieroth's Letter of an Inventor which details her attempts to patent an excuse given by Thomas A Edison to avoid an irksome social engagement; Jeffrey Vallance's pathetically cheap but emotionally memorable souvenirs of his meeting with the King of Tonga; and Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard's fabulously concise plans for a video re-enactment of a 1978 performance by The Cramps at a Californian Mental Institution, cheekily utilised the air of studied authority traditionally given to the exhibition space to apply values and importance to material that might otherwise be overlooked.
Dan Wilkinson is a member of Daniela Johnson, a curatorial collaboration based in London, Copenhagen and Cologne.
Writer detail:
Dan Wilkinson is a member of Daniela Johnson, a curatorial collaboration based in London, Copenhagen and Cologne.
Venue detail:
Royal College of Art
Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU
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