Tuesday, March 29, 2011

CUTS: Private View/Event: Tuesday 29 March 6 - 10pm






Motorcade/FlashParade invites you to witness C U T S ....

Private View/Event: Tuesday 29 March, 6 -10pm
Tuesday 29 March to Saturday 2 April 2011
Tues 1 - 5 pm, Wed to Sat 12 - 6 pm



"It is not possible to make cuts without cutting some things that are important. The truth is that everyone is having to make cuts... we have got to make these cuts... It will not make us popular. We've been left a mess - we've got to clear it up."
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/feb/14/spending-cuts-unpopular-admits-david-cameron)

C U T S presents work from an open call-out among members of the UWE community. It is curated by UWE Fine Art students and hosted by Motorcade/FlashParade. Drawing on the current climate of austerity in the UK, all work in this exhibition is subject to C U T S.

C U T S follows a long tradition of acts of removal, cutting and destruction in art. Lucio Fontana's sliced canvasses, Yoko Ono's Cut Piece (1965), Gustav Metzger's auto destructive art, and Michael Landy's Art Bin (2010) are just a few examples of artists practice that involve acts of destruction as part of the process of making or presenting work. The C U T S exhibition addresses notions of creation/destruction as part of the absence/presence, and areas in-between, in the curatorial process of delivering an exhibition. It also asks what the hell do you expect to happen if you cut something.

The C U T S exhibition presents work in the majority of the gallery space, with a final area cordoned off from public entry. The private view provides a site for performative actions. Over the course of the evening, piece by piece, work will be taken from its exhibited position to the cordoned off area, where it will be subject to C U T S. Any parts removed will remain in this cordoned off area. The rest of the work will then be returned to its original display space. Those present are invited to witness the physicality of C U T S in action.

The private view will also present playful interpretations of the theme of C U T S: performative works, a specially commissioned dress worn by a member of the C U T S team, along with a hairdresser offering free haircuts. A licensed bar in the foyer will provide an opportunity to get half cut and a DJ invites you to cut some rug.

Artists exhibiting in the show will be confirmed on Tuesday 29th March.

For further enquiries contact: cuts2011@hotmail.co.uk

C U T S is curated by Diana Ahmed, Julie Coltman, Matthew Ford, Jodie Marks, Lisa Rapose and Sophie Waites.

The exhibition is organised with support from UWE Fine Art staff, with special thanks to Monika Oechsler and Mary Flower.