Following Bruno Latour’s proposal for a parliament of things in which ‘things’ (objects and materials) with differing values, qualities, and purposes can come together in a space that accommodates and rationalises them; members of the Thing Power research group propose a collaborative object-led project that utilises the Curating Research vitrine spaces on a rotational schedule.
The intention of this project is to challenge assumptions about the values, qualities and purposes of objects and materials by giving creative practitioners free rein to interpret, translate, break, disrupt, and interrupt the objects and materials provided by other members of the group. This project aims to explore, expand and challenge each participating member’s individual practice.
The project will begin with each participant bringing a ‘thing’ that they may use in their own practice. Each thing will be individually documented then passed to another member who will have two weeks to respond to or rework it using their practice processes. The thing produced after the first exchange will be documented and then displayed in a vitrine for one week. It will then be passed on to another member who will respond through their practice processes. And so on for five iterations of each thing for the duration of the display period.
The project will be organised so that half of the objects are on display and half are being developed. If things are made that do not physically contain the preceding iteration of the thing, the earlier iteration will be displayed on shelves in the large vitrine. The final display will present the final iterations of each thing and any other things produced in earlier exchanges. Each iteration of each thing will be documented and a publication containing all the outcomes will be produced and presented at the end of the project.
Project participants are: Andrew Bannister-Bailey, Garry Barker, Lucy Bergman, Peter Blagg, Paula Chambers, Liadin Cooke, Oliver Crabtree, Nicola Dale, Sarah Eyre, Sian Gouldstone, Clare Lane, Frances Norton, Ana Perez, Sally Robinson, Ben Simpson, Amber Smith, Phil Welding, Dawn Woolley.
28 April - 29 July 2022
Curating Research Vitrine Spaces, Leeds Arts University, LS2 9AQ
This exhibition is available to view from 10am-4pm Monday to Friday by appointment only. Please email curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk to make an appointment.
Image: Thing [Liadin Cooke], object, 2020, photography by Sally Robinson.
- 28 April - 29 July 2022
- Curating Research Vitrine Spaces, Leeds Arts University, LS2 9AQ