Viewing articles tagged with 'Bristol'

Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Rd, Bristol BS1 6UX

Pacita Abad: Life in the Margins

Life in the Margins (2020) Installation view, Spike Island, Bristol

The riot of full-bodied exuberance currently filling the spaces of Spike Island sits in welcome contrast to this colourless English January. Dividing up the space of the gallery, hang twenty or so large quilted canvases that froth with vivid colour, dense paintwork, and detailed needlework by Filipina-American, Pacita Abad (1946–2004). Review by Lizzie Lloyd

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road Bristol BS1 6UX

Imran Perretta: the destructors

the destructors, production still

In his new film ‘the destructors’, Imran Perretta uses narrative and visual storytelling to articulate his personal experiences with physical and structural violence. The result is a sensitive and poignant indictment of the British governmental policies, Austerity and the War on Terror, which have served to exacerbate the marginalisation and oppression of Muslim communities living in the UK. Review by Julia Schouten

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: Common Ground

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: Common Ground, installation view at Spike Island, 2017

‘Common Ground’ showcases the importance of place in Andrea Luka Zimmerman's practice. At the centre of the exhibition is Zimmerman’s film ‘Estate, a Reverie’ (2015). It tracks the drawn out closure of the Haggerston Estate in East London, where Zimmerman lived for 18 years. Review by Helen Cobby

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Bristol Old Vic, King St, Bristol, BS1 4ED

600 Highwaymen: The Record

The Record, Bristol Old Vic

The Record is 61 minutes in which 45 local people perform a series of choreographed movements on the vast empty stage of Bristol Old Vic. They are here because they responded to an open call for participants. None of them had met prior to arriving at the theatre for opening night. Review by Andy Field.

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Various locations, Bristol

Bristol Biennial 2016: In Other Worlds

Liquid Presence

Bristol Biennial 2016 presents thirteen new commissions on the theme of ‘In Other Worlds’. This otherness took many forms: human to non-human, present to future; from the city streets to the very air we breathe. A series of exhibitions, talks, events and satellite projects encourage encounters with, conversations on and explorations of an array of alchemically transformed locations across the city. Review by Kate Self

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX

Stuart Whipps: Isle of Slingers

(clockwise from left) Marble Book; Marble Book (Detail 001); Marble Book (Detail 002)(2016); Birmingham Central Library Wall (2016); Tilly Losch, Dance of the Hands (2013) Video

‘Isle of Slingers’ draws together multiple strands of Stuart Whipps’ working practice, revealing his working method and showing an archive of information researched and compiled over a period of five years. Review by Rory Duckhouse

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX

Michael Simpson: Flat Surface Painting

Left to right: Unnamed (Confessional) (2015) Oil paint on canvas, 282 x 160 cm; Unnamed (Confessional) (2015) Oil paint on canvas, 282 x 160cm; Minbar (Pulpit) (2015) Oil paint on canvas, 535 x 240 cm; Leper Squint 16 (2014) Oil paint on canvas, four

The asceticism of religious furnishing denies any mortal comfort; one’s body ought to be forgotten, directing mind and gaze in a heavenward tilt. Riffing on this tic of worshipful design, Simpson’s paintings close what’s human out. Review by Alex Quicho

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Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

John Akomfrah: Vertigo Sea

John Akomfrah, Vertigo Sea, 2015, installation view at Arnolfini

'Vertigo Sea’ functions as an expanded visual essay. The brutal plurality of content within it, whaling; polar bear hunting; nuclear tests; slavery; migration; drowned boats, all converge into violent and unflinching images. Review by Philomena Epps

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX

Charlotte Prodger: 8004 - 8019

Charlotte Prodger,  Stoneymollan Trail (2015) HD video, custom made seating

Charlotte Prodger’s quavering voice is distinctive, with a strange, almost painfully self-conscious inflection. Hers is a voice that feels alien but wants to be heard. Review by Rowan Lear

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Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

Richard Long: Time and Space

Installation view of TIME AND SPACE by Richard Long, 31 July – 15 November, Arnolfini, Bristol

Long has made both an art and a science out of walking, and it is this tension between qualitative and quantitative modes of experiencing, measuring and representing the natural environment that is evident throughout the exhibition. Review by Joseph Constable

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Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX, United Kingdom

Cally Spooner: Post Production

Off Camera Dialogue

In the days before ‘Post-Production’ opened, I watched Cally Spooner in the familiar, inglorious throes of post-production itself, making final video edits...

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Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

Emma Smith: 5HZ

 Emma Smith: 5Hz, 2015

The evolution of language was originally believed to have a social function rather than an informational one and lends itself freely to song. Review by Rory Duckhouse

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In Between Time, Knowle West Media Centre and surrounding area, Leinster Avenue, Bristol BS4 1NL

Mammalian Diving Reflex: Nightwalks with Teenagers

Nightwalks with Teenagers

In the first of two reviews of Bristol's In Between Time festival, Bob Gelsthorpe reviews Nightwalks with Teenagers by Canadian artists Mammalian Diving Reflex on his own terms.

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