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Johanna Billing, Studio Works - a touring exhibition 2003-04 organized by Milch, London Studio Works was the first UK solo exhibition by Stockholm based artist Johanna Billing shown on site at Gainsborough studios where Look Out!, was made in the proceeding month. Four video works are shown: Look Out! (2003), You Don't Love Me Yet (2003), Missing Out (2001) and Project for a Revolution (2000). Studio Works presented itself as an umbrella title for the show when the works chosen all turned out to be made in different studiošsurrounds. Johanna Billing's working method centres around inviting people to be part of a 'situation' that would not be part of their daily lives, doing something they might not usually do. Billing's set-ups allow the participants to create 'scenes' in collaboration with the different themes and surroundings. Billing's results function almost as short takes, presenting an edited view of the given scenario. Most of her material is inspired by observations and memories that explore the psychology of group conduct, in each case exposing the delusion of the freedom of the individual. Look Out! (5:30 mins/loop) is a new work made in and around Gainsborough Studios. Shot only a few weeks ago, it takes as its starting point the changing nature of the area. Commissioned by Milch. Cinematography by Henry Moore Selder. Project for a Revolution (3:14mins/loop) takes as its staring point the opening scene in Zabriskie Point ( Antonioni 1970). Cinematography by Henry Moore Selder & Johan Phillips. Missing Out (4:20mins/loop) re-enacts a breathing exercise given to primary school children in Sweden in 1970s. Cinematography by Manne Lindwall. In You Don't Love Me Yet (7:40 mins, runs every 20 mins) a group is shown in a recording studio singing/playing Roky Erickson's 1984 song You Don't Love Me Yet. The melancholic nature of the song alongside the apparent group camaraderie provides a weird counterpoint. This work is part of an ongoing project of live tour that works with local musicians in host towns and cities. Produced by Index -The swedish Contemporary Art Foundation in collaboration with Nifca, co-producers and collective partners for the film and tour participants. (www.indexfoundation.nu) Cinematography by Manne Lindwall, Musical Arrangements by Ida Lunden. Studio Works is funded by Arts Council of England, Double Agents and IASPIS <<< |