Sun 23 Nov - Sun 14 Dec 2008Nim-jo Chung
Juanan Eguiguren
Frank Koolen
Bedwyr Williams
(see project-blog for images)I AM COMEDY is a multi-location project that combines residency, exhibition and screenings curated by Toby Huddlestone.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”We are Comedy and I am Comedy investigate artists who involve themselves explicitly as either narrator or actor to explore the human condition and their own identity through humour. This seemingly optimistic means of surviving by simply laughing at life is somewhat more tragic deep down. All the artist’s selected have one thing in common – they want to make us laugh at their interventions and attempts to understand the everyday.
Freud believed that humour often acts as a cover up for deeper, more tragic psychological states. Many of the artists in this project use humour as a diversion for more hidden philosophies – nihilistic and futile in the case of Nim-jo Chung and Juanan Eguiguren, buoyant and celebratory in the case of Frank Koolen and Voss and Souden and social and political through the work of Olaf Breuning, Tellervo and Oliver Kalleinen and Otto Karvonen.
I am Comedy features both internationally prominent artists such as Olaf Breuning, Oliver and Tellervo Kalleinen alongside emerging artists who very much look to become as prolific in their own careers. The residency and research period will allow three artists the time and space to develop new work in a critical environment. They will each spend three weeks working in Hoorn at Hotel MariaKapel in the large ex-chapel space that will become the exhibition venue at the end of the residency period. They will develop an exhibition of this work alongside other works and other artists selected by the curator.
About the ArtistsBedwyr Williams plans to make a new performative work drawing upon nostalgia from a period living in Utretch some time ago. His character creations are usually weird and ambiguous creations that defy the everyday social codes that govern our behaviour and relationships with each other, bringing upon a questioning of how, and more importantly, why have we ended up like we have.
Frank Koolen told the curator he tries to make every idea he has, which is why most of his works are bad ideas that should have just been left alone. This discussion, which is ongoing with the curator, forms the basis of a new work that Koolen will make specifically for I am Comedy, as he takes us on a hopeless and hilarious journey through his recent ideas.
Nim-jo Chung’s (UK) method of video documenting is very much like that of the amateur documentary filmmaker, only the narrative is rarely linear. He sometimes takes on the role as narrator and interviewer provoking difficult and often cringingly embarrassing situations. He investigates personas in this way, though often after viewing his works, it is he who appears to be the one who is been unpicked, by his own questioning of others.
Juanan Eguiguren uses the non daylight hours to pursue his obsessive fascination of this odd time of day. He alters situations covertly and subtlely, often leaving the viewer questioning how much of the situation has been staged and how much left to co-incidence. In Txoria he follows a young seagull hobbling around an empty car park hopelessly trying to evade the video maker. The scene cuts and we see the seagull on the neighbouring road. We don not know if the bird travelled there itself. What follows is quite shocking but strangely light-hearted as the seagull is ploughed down by a late night taxi driver. Juanan narrates over the imagery mixing distress with calmness.
I AM COMEDY (screenings)Olaf Breuning, Nim-jo Chung, Juanan Eguiguren, Oliver and Tellervo Kalleinen, Otto Karvonen, Frank Koolen, Roy Voss and Tom Souden, Bedwyr Williams
Screenings Worm, Rotterdam: 12.11.08 @ 20:30 (doors 19:30)
W139, Amsterdam: 13.11.08 @ 20:30 (doors 19:30)
Hotel MariaKapel: 13.12.08 @ 16:00
About the guest-curatorToby Huddlestone (b. 1980) is an artist and curator based in Bristol. From April 2005 until July 2008 he was co-director of Plan 9 in Bristol. Whilst concentrating his individual practice he is also involved in curatorial projects, among which curating BRSLAXVAA in 2005 and UTSTÄLLRUMM in 2007. He has recently shown at Oriel Davies Gallery.
This project is funded by Arts Council England South West, VSB Cultuurfonds, Provincie
Noord-Holland and Spike Island through the Associates Scheme.