Driven by Cars

Co-exhibitors:

Andrew Cross, Reuben Sutherland, Nikos Leros, Nash Egerton, Ami Clarke, Adam Evans, Claude Lelouch, Yasu Ichige

Driving can be the escape to freedom, but it can also mean the endless wait in the traffic jam, or the infuriating search for a free parking space. Driving is about motion – fast or slow-motion – the horizon racing towards you or stretching away towards infinity, the changing scenery floating by the side window. Driving and what you drive can be a political statement; it can determine how other people see you or how you want to be seen by them. Driving has spawned a whole new world of tarmac and concrete, car parks, flyovers and multilane expressways. It is now so much part of our culture that it is difficult to imagine what life would be like without it.

The films selected for Driven by Cars all focus on the car and the way it changes our perception of nature, of culture, of ourselves. They explore the exhilaration of speed and the enchantment of slow-motion, the crash (the explosion!) and the aftermath of the accident. Some of them are serious, others are less so, some are critical, others are celebratory - together they form a tableau of contemporary driving.

Text by Ricarda Vidal