"More than Meets the Eye"
2005-06-01 until 2005-06-25
University of Essex Art Gallery
Colchester, , UK United Kingdom

The University of Essex Gallery is delighted to present More than meets the eye, an exhibition exploring the everyday interventions of contemporary word-art, curated by six MA Gallery Studies students. The exhibition will include artworks which display subtle statements, messages or expressions and play with slight and simple changes in everyday situations. The aim is to subtly intervene on everyday campus life, touching wide sections of the University community and beyond with thought-provoking artistic statements. These messages will come from different voices - political, philosophical, banal, humorous, psychological, self-questioning - as diverse and individual as the audience will be.

The curators said: 'Words function in our culture as vehicles of communication. Everyone encounters words in some form everyday but we tend to take them for granted. We are not always aware how incredibly persuasive they can be. Words install powerful emotions in a person and provoke varied reactions, mental and physical. This exhibition will explore how a subtle expression or act of communication can often wield more power than the loudest of shouts'.

The exhibition will reach beyond the physical boundaries of the gallery by taking some of the artworks out into the campus itself. This will be achieved using interventions such as projection, wall graphics and a fly-poster project which will subtly confront an unassuming audience with messages which they may or may not notice or understand straight away, but will create intrigue and curiosity. To allow for active visitor involvement in the topic, the gallery will become an open, discursive and engaging environment with a resource area and audio stations, complementing the artwork on display.

More than meets the eye will include works in a mixture of media by the following artists: Laurie Anderson, Charlotte Bernstein, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Douglas Gordon, Jenny Holzer, Mark Hutchinson, Maurizio Nannucci, and David Shrigley. In addition there will be works personally installed around the University campus by Fiona Macalister and Tomas Vanek.

The following program of complementary events will accompany the show.

In association with the University of Essex Arts Film Society, a series of films will be shown on campus in June at 7pm: 14th, Fahrenheit 451 (room 4.722), 16th, The Pillow Book (LTB8), 21st, Dreams that Money can Buy (LTB8), 23rd, Prospero’s Books (LTB8). Furthermore, a performance poetry night titled Poetry Rocks! will take place on campus Level2, 6th June 8pm-1am. Tickets are available on www.sutickets.com/event/5685 or at the door. A family day will be held on 18th June 10am-4pm in and around the gallery. Finally, discussion groups to meet the curators will be held in the University Gallery on the 1st, 8th and 15th June 4-6pm. For more information please call 01206 873184.

A catalogue will be produced to accompany the exhibition.

Related Links:

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