The idea of hosting any art event in one of the many disused shops and office blocks, always strikes me as such a great way to breathe life back into the streets of Leeds. This is the fundamental idea behind art in unusual spaces. The most recent art events I have been to, appear to be showcasing for one night only, and Nine-Five-Nine was no expectation. The themes for the show were around work, play and collaboration. Excited mostly by the film screening which would be happening I headed to the space when the exhibition would be in full flow.
Outside what appeared to be part of an office block, you were greeted with a giant game of scrabble which set the tone for the evening. As the audience entered, the space was separated in to three main rooms. In the first you were met with a series of video pieces placed around the room with sets of headphones. Alongside there was an area at the back offering you a chance to write your opinions on what work and play are and a piece which invited you to stitch freely. Next to them was a small room which housed the Village Bookstore, hosting a selection of publications by various artists. This space offered you a chance to read some of the books in a comfortable seating area. Nice, but I was left slightly confused as to why it was there. For some reason it would have worked in a standalone show but didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the evening. However there were some really lovely publications.
The final space played the selection of videos, seven in total which played on a reel. One aspect of this room which left me disappointed was the positing of the projection. Whether it was intentional or not, the wall which the videos were played against had a piece horrible white plastic running through the middle of it. Surprisingly for some the videos it actually added a nice effect, but for other it seemed unfortunate. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed, ‘Fun String Circle’, a wonderfully fun piece, whereby the artist simply drew himself inside a circle of silly string. ‘Slow Down’ a delightful video where the woman in on the screen almost became the gramophone and ‘What do you think I think about you’ two bags attached to the back of bus chairs which when the wind caught them directly they almost became life like.
However, having visited the exhibition, there were a few things which left me wondering. On arrival at the show, I expected to be shown work which engaged with two themes, work and play. However leaving the space and thinking over the pieces I had just seen, I became unsure if the exhibition had been trying to touch on these themes or if in fact it was based on play within a work setting? The video ‘Ministry of Fun’ seemed to have an office setting and the aim of the video was to make people (or actors playing) at work, laugh. Perhaps playing on the idea of the impersonal world of office work? The show had a fitting notion of being held in an office block, yet this space was small and cramped when more than a dozen or so people tried to get in. However, was the intention to re create a claustrophobic environment?
Nonetheless, it was an interesting exhibition placed together by Leeds College of Art and Art in unusually spaces. Yet, for me, there were just a few attentions to details which left the show with a slight incomplete feeling. However, the event certainly lightened my evening and I look forward to seeing the work from this group of artists at the degree show.
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