USF GUEST ARTISTS EXHIBITING AT GALLERY 3,14
Marcus Neustetter/Stephen Hobbs and James Webb are presenting two major installations at the exhibition 'Contemporary Artists from South Africa' at the Gallery 3,14 in Bergen, 4th June - 8th August 2010.
The exhibition has two parts, bringing together a variety of practices
by South African artists. The first part sees two site-specific projects
produced in Austevoll and Bergen respectively. The second is a
screening of 10 video works.
James Webb has chosen to engage with Bergen’s diverse religious communities. Prayer is a multi-channel sound installation comprising of prayers from all the religions practiced in Bergen. Webb researched the many groups and met with them to make personal audio recordings of prayer that would be representative of their respective faiths. Broadcast from 12 floor-based speakers, the artwork allows listeners to wander through the installation listening to the many sounds as a whole or kneel down and listen to each voice intimately.
Hobbs/Neustetter's sustained preoccupation with connectivity and communication in site specific situations, finds them regressing to a time when Norway's islands were connected less by bridges and more by good faith. Hence the artist’s most current mapping project involves traversing a group of islands in Austevoll, Norway. Their resultant 6 day camping, hiking and boating exercise served as the artist’s means of encountering and collecting particular experiences pertaining to the right of access. Hobbs/Neustetter’s installation Depth Threats is a reflection on the constant state of measuring that the artists encountered as they read sea maps, deciphered land masses and negotiated often shallow rocky waters in Austevoll.
The ten video works from both emerging and established artists explore the social landscape of South Africa, focusing on the dynamic interactions between place and time; land and people; past and present; present and future. The work raises powerful questions: how do we envision our future and how do we face our past?
The exhibition is produced by BEK Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts Maur Prosjekter – Stiftelsen 3,14 In collaboration with Artist in Residence at USF Verftet and ISIS Arts, Newcastle.
The exhibition is supported by The Norwegian Art Council, The Municipality of Bergen and OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway
18-6 2010