Saturday, November 26, 7pm at CAC Cinema
The appearance of a weathered VHS copy of Hellraiser atop a bus shelter on Old Kent Road in South London became a kind of urban legend, or at least a puzzle. Since this first occurrence in 2012, there have been other instances, other portals opening, visible from the upper level of double-decker buses. Copycats aside, the content of the bleached VHS case, Clive Barker’s 1987 film, has at its core a puzzle box, the ‘Lament Configuration’. This box, when solved, can suture dimensions. From the other side, the ‘Cenobites’, demonic in appearance, claim the clever individual for a suturing of another kind, between pleasure and pain. A pop mystery, the VHS tape in its odd placement, now a different sort of analog puzzle-box, offers a detour on a routine commute. Portals, mundane or not, need a here and there, a clever body to pass through.
Portal Atop a Bus Stop is a screening of international artists’ films and videos (im)materializing in various constellations for a multitude of sites. Its second incarnation at Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) features work by: Katie Hare (UK), Beth Block (USA), Daniel Cockburn (Canada), Deirdre Logue (Canada), Claire Davies (UK), Emily Furneaux (UK), Maha Maamoun (Egypt), Morehshin Allahyari (Iran/USA), Paul Simon Richards (UK), Mary Helena Clark (USA), Jennet Thomas (UK), and Michael Robinson (USA).
Curated by current Rupert resident Erik Martinson (Canada/Latvia).
Programme:
Skip, Katie Hare, 2015, 7:48, UK
Successive Approximations to the Goal, Beth Block, 2015, 14:11, USA
Nocturnal Doubling, Daniel Cockburn, 2004, 4:07, Canada
Beyond the Usual Limits: Part 1, Deirdre Logue, 2005, 2:55, Canada
GIF Cat GIF, Claire Davies, 2016, 7:51, UK
A Tale of a Ziggurat, Emily Furneaux, 2014, 6:41, UK
Most Fabulous Place, Maha Maamoun, 2008, 1:11, Egypt
In Mere Spaces All Things Are Side By Side I, Morehshin Allahyari, 2014, 4:25, Iran/USA
L*a*b, Paul Simon Richards, 2016, 15:31, UK
And The Sun Flowers, Mary Helena Clark, 2012, 4:47, USA
Return of the Black Tower, Jennet Thomas, 2007, 15:46, UK
Mad Ladders, Michael Robinson, 2015, 9:45, USA
Total Duration: 94:58
All works presented in English. The curator will introduce the programme.
Thanks to all at the SMC/CAC, Rupert, Vtape, Video Data Bank, and all the artists for making this screening possible.
Still image credit: A Tale of a Ziggurat, Emily Furneaux, 2014, 6:41, UK.