#vivid projects

SILENT SIGNAL SALON went to UoB to go to a free animation/science event Was incredibly interesting as we heard from 3 animators that collaborated with 3 scientists to create a short film based on the scientists research.

Donald Rodney referenced stereotypes attributed to blackness through works such as Self Portrait: Black Men Public Enemy, 1990 light boxes and Double Think trophies with engraved text 1992. Through these works Rodney suggests how both the media and society reinforced these stereotypes through the criminalisation of black men hence the reference to “public enemy” and ironic rows of trophies symbolising the athletic prowess juxtaposed with engraved text such as “Black history has a horrible echo [sic], Sadly Black history gives poignant clues to Black Future, Black People are sly” 

Professor Mike Phillips was a close friend and colleague of Donald Rodney, meeting at Slade in the mid to late 80s. They would go on to collaborate on projects including Visceral Canker (which I will share later). AUTOICON, was a bold and futuristic concept in digitally preserving and archiving the legacy of Donald Rodney. You can read more about the project here and I am pleased and honoured to be able to revisit this work as part of the re-imaging of this concept over the next couple of months, which includes working Mike and members of Plymouth University. 

Today Antonio Roberts aka hellocatfood and I hosted the first of 8 workshops Wolverhampton Sickle Cell Care and Social Activity Centre. The focus of the workshops is to work with the members to develop a new online site, which will share the experiences of participants, who are either sicklers (people with sickle cell, Thalassaemia or other related diseases), carers, workers and family members. The lively session included discussion of the work of Donald Rodney, whose AUTOICON, was the inspiration for this project. Participants were generous in that they shared their experiences, thoughts and ambitions for the project. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing images, audio, visual and text of the progress of the workshops, towards the eventual launch of the website and exhibition vividprojects in October. Watch this space for further updates

Robot Bodies from Keith Piper on Vimeo. Here Keith discussing the notion of the Robot as the “other”, as comparison to the black “other”. Keith recently presented at Re-Imaging AUTOICON salon vividprojects

http://www.eddiechambers.com/art-monthly/three-songs 

(Doublethink: The Atrocity Exhibition and other Empire Stories. The Black Art Gallery. London, 12 July - 2 August 1986. Exhibition brochure)