Revolt & Revolutions: An Arts Council Collection National Partner Exhibition
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Bothy Gallery
6 Jan–15 Apr 2018
Reviews:
Culture Matters
Socialist Review
The Guardian
Creativity has long been associated with vanguard ideas: art and music can give a voice to the unheard, power to the vulnerable and celebrate the human capacity for positive action, even in adversity.
The works in this exhibition, drawn primarily from the Arts Council Collection, give insight into some of the counter-culture and anti-establishment movements of recent decades alongside work by artists who seek to make a difference, helping to suggest ways that we might contribute to change on an individual, community and even global level. Works include Susan Philipsz’ version of the rousing anthem The Internationale (1999), broadcast across the Bothy Garden landscape and A Jukebox of People Trying to Change the World (2003–) by Ruth Ewan which welcomes visitors into the gallery space.
The exhibition includes the commission FF Gaiden: Legacy by Larry Achiampong & David Blandy
2017, UHD video, 15.31. In the Collection of Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Castleford Heritage Trust
FF Gaiden: Legacy is a new edition of the FF Gaiden series by Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, who have collaborated together since 2013 alongside their individual practices. The word ‘gaiden’ is Japanese for a ‘side story’, and in the digital gaming world is used to describe a spin-off of an existing gameworld. The first edition of the series, FF Gaiden: Delete is held in the Arts Council Collection, and was co-produced by the artists and the group People in Limbo in Oslo in 2016, facilitated by PRAKSIS. It tells the life stories of those who are not official citizens of any place, through open-source footage from the Grand Theft Auto 5 video game.
The YSP and Castleford Heritage Trust edition tells the story of local resident Alison Catherall. Born and still living in Castleford, the birthplace of Henry Moore, Alison’s story parallels that of her hometown, telling of the impact of the decline in local industries and mine closures, as well as her hopes to raise aspiration and inspiration amongst the town’s young people and families through education, culture and heritage.