Car Culture

Co-exhibitors:

Pak Keung Wan, Simon Hollington & Kypros Kypriano, Tony Stollard, Andrea Gregson, Rupert Clamp

The Hart 2001 exhibition, curated by David Cotterrell and held at the Ferens Art Gallery, sought to connect local artists in Hull with those in the UK. Opening on 29 September 2001 as part of a festival to strengthen artistic connections, the event showcased diverse work.

Cotterrell’s central contribution was the commissioned video Car Culture. This 2,000-mile motorway journey across the UK in a Volvo 340 was documented using a camera suction-cupped to the windscreen and pointed out the rear window. The footage captured aggressive “playfully malevolent” behaviour of fellow motorists.

Set to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, the film contrasts tailgaters’ chaotic antics with the oddly calm view of the world moving backwards. It concludes with the “real-time death” of the artist’s car as its prop shaft shears in two outside Glasgow, towed over 400 miles to a wrecker’s yard.

The festival also commissioned six artists from outside Hull to present various working styles. The exhibition featured local artists Paul Collinson, Brendan Fletcher, Jayne Jones and Adam Scott.

Accompanying the showcase was a 38-page exhibition catalogue titled Hart 2001, including 32 pages of colour plates showcasing the commissioned works.