Monsters of the Id - 11.02.12
Date: 11th February 2012David's new solo exhibition opens next Saturday at John Hansard Gallery.
Derived from the artist's journeys to Afghanistan, Monsters of the Id tests our expectations of cinematic and media representation, presenting a series of new works that experiment with advanced display technologies. The exhibition captures the disorientation of a civilian observer within a militarised environment.
Upon entering the gallery, visitors are immersed in a landscape that crosses the physical and the virtual. The disquieting Observer Effect presents viewers with a projected image of a distant, self-absorbed population. As audiences remain within the space, this virtual community grows in number and becomes distracted by their presence.
Searchlight 2 reveals illusory human shadows traversing a low platform terrain, suggestive of the desert landscape as seen by an aerial drone. The unnerving movements of this unidentified population are computer-generated and directly mirror the actions seen in Observer Effect.
Apparent Horizon renders immersive, virtualised vistas of a desert landscape. As viewers, our role hovers between sublime reverie and the quiet anxiety between of periods of violence. The exhibition ends with a final cinematic flourish, enabling visitors to consider their role in the exhibition and its dialogue of control, observation truth and contradiction.
Monsters of the Id is a John Hansard Gallery exhibition co-curated with Helen Sloan, SCAN, and is accompanied by a new, fullyillustrated publication. The development of the exhibition has been supported through residencies with the Joint Forces Medical Group in Helmand province and civilian agencies in the northern provinces of Afghanistan enabled by Wellcome Trust and the RSA, and supported by a Philip Leverhulme Prize for research, Danielle Arnaud, Sheffield Hallam University, Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England.
Exhibition Preview
Saturday 11 February 2012 / 2– 4pm
Free / all welcome
Free London Coach
A free return coach will travel from London to the John Hansard Gallery, available exclusively to guests. Spaces are limited and available on a strictly first come, first served basis. To book email info@hansardgallery.org.uk by Friday 10 February 2012.
Coach departs from the Madame Tussauds coach dropoff point, Marylebone Road at 11.45am (guests can attend an optional tour of Kinetica from 10-11.30am*). The coach will leave the John Hansard Gallery at 4pm. Journey time approximately two hours.
*Requires ticket entry to Kinetica Art Fair. A 20% promotional discount is available to David Cotterrell Exhibition Preview guests. Visit http://www.kinetica-artfair.com/?visitors/tickets.html and enter "senses" (all lower case) in the promotional code box.
Awards:
Artists' Insights: Interact, Philip Leverhulme Prize, RSA: Arts and Ecology International , War & Medicine : War Artist CommissionSponsors:
