We are delighted to present Finding Fanon: Gaiden, a six-episode saga created by British artists Larry Achiampong and David Blandy with/in Grand Theft Auto V
After introducing Finding Fanon in 2016 - which was featured in GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY - Achiampong and Blandy return to Milan with an ambitious installation. FF: Gaiden is a series of video works created from a process of collaboration between the two artists and wider communities. Together they have used the virtual space of Grand Theft Auto V to explore ideas around the writings of Frantz Fanon, whilst also asking what it means to be human in this supposed moment of globalization. Gaiden (a term synonymous with Japanese anime and videogame culture meaning “sidestory”) expands the artist’s Finding Fanon series as they devise the tools that they used to produce Finding Fanon 2, with the public. By doing this, they give creative agency to wider communities including; working with veterans & prisoners (at FACT, Liverpool) paperless migrants (at the International Artist's Residency PRAKSIS, Oslo), a female refugee group (at New Art Exchange, Nottingham), young people (at Tyneside Gallery, Newcastle), thus allowing them to direct the way in which they share their stories. between the digital realm and IRL (‘In Real Life’). Achiampong and Blandy have worked with various communities to produce video works that combine a plethora of material; script-work based on stories and conversations from the participants concerning contemporary identity, thoughts about how their relationships and identities are formed through the virtual world, and an original, synth-driven soundtrack that contextualises the intense, high definition visuals and stories of the film.
Larry Achiampong (b. 1984, UK) completed a BA in Mixed Media Fine Art at University of Westminster (2005) and an MA in Sculpture at Slade School of Fine Art (2008). His practice uses sound, live performance, and imagery to explore representations of identity in the digital age and the dichotomies found within a world dominated by facebook/tumblr/youtube-based cultures. He crate-digs the vaults of history, splicing audible and visual qualities of the personal and interpersonal archive-as-material, offering multiple dispositions that reveal the socio-political contradictions in contemporary society. Achiampong has exhibited, performed, and presented projects within the UK and abroad including Tate Britain & Modern; London, David Roberts Art Foundation; London, Modern Art Oxford; Oxford, New Art Exchange; Nottingham, SAVVY Contemporary; Berlin, and Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation; Accra. Achiampong lives and works in London.
David Blandy (b. 1976, U.K.) is an artist based in London & Brighton, who works with digital media, including video games. He was educated at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. Blandy produces video, performances and comics that deal with his problematic relationship with popular culture, highlighting the slippage and tension between fantasy and reality in everyday life. Blandy has exhibited at venues nationally and worldwide such as Bloomberg Space, London; Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum, Helsinki; The Baltic, Gateshead; Turner Contemporary, Margate; Spike Island, Bristol; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany; PS1, New York and Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China. Represented by Seventeen, London. His films are distributed through LUX.
Siamo felici di presentare Finding Fanon: Gaiden, una saga di sei episodi creata dagli artisti britannici Larry Achiampong e David Blandy con/in Grand Theft Auto V
Dopo il debutto di Finding Fanon nel 2016 - incluso nella mostra GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY - Achiampong e Blandy ritornano a Milano con un’installazione ambiziosa. FF Gaiden consiste in varie opere audiovisive create attraverso un intenso processo di collaborazione tra i due artisti e comunità più ampie. Insieme, hanno utilizzato lo spazio virtuale di Grand Theft Auto V per esplorare concetti e idee formulate da Frantz Fanon, interrogandosi sul significato dell’esistenza in un’era di massima globalizzazione. Gaiden (termine giapponese che indica una storia o narrazione secondaria) è un’espansione della serie Finding Fanon, che mira a condividere con il pubblico le tecniche usate per la realizzazione di Finding Fanon 2. In questo modo, gli artisti hanno offerto un’autonomia creativa a comunità eterogenee che includono veterani e prigionieri (al FACT, Liverpool), migranti privi di documenti (all'International Artist's Residency PRAKSIS, Oslo), un gruppo di rifugiate (al New Art Exchange, Nottingham), giovani (alla Tyneside Gallery, Newcastle), consentendo loro di raccontare le proprie storie in bilico tra la sfera del virtuale e la vita reale (IRL). Achiampong e Blandy hanno lavorato con diverse comunità per realizzare lavori video che assemblano materiali eclettici; un lavoro di sceneggiatura basato su storie e conversazioni dei partecipanti riguardanti l'identità contemporanea, riflessioni su come le loro relazioni e identità si formano attraverso il mondo virtuale e una colonna sonora originale pop che contestualizza le immagini e le vicende narrate nei vari cortometraggi.
Nato nel 1984 nel Regno Unito, Larry Achiampong ha ottenuto una Laurea in Mixed Media Fine Art presso la University of Westminster (2005) e un Master of Arts in Scultura presso la Slade School of Fine Art (2008). Achiampong utilizza suoni, immagini e performance per esplorare il concetto di identità nell’era digitale. L’artista scava negli archivi della storia, appropriandosi dei materiali eterogenei in cui s’imbatte per portare in primo piano le contraddizioni socio-politiche dell’era contemporanea nonché i paradossi di un mondo dominato da Facebook, Tumblr e YouTube. Le sue opere sono state presentate nel Regno Unito e all’estero presso istituzioni come la Tate Britain & Modern di Londra, David Roberts Art Foundation a Londra, Modern Art Oxford a Oxford, New Art Exchange a Nottingham, SAVVY Contemporary a Berlino e Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation ad Accra. Achiampong vive e lavora a Londra.
Nato nel 1976 nel Regno Unito, David Blandy vive e lavora tra Londra e Brighton. Nella sua pratica artistica, Blandy utilizza prevalentemente media digitali, tra cui i videogiochi. Formatosi presso la Slade School of Fine Art e il Chelsea College of Art and Design di Londra, Blandy ha prodotto video, performance e graphic novel che tematizzano la relazione tra ideologia e popular culture. Affascinato dal corto-circuito tra fantasia e realtà nella vita quotidiana, Blandy collabora spesso con artisti internazionali. Le sue opere sono state presentate presso istituzioni internazionali tra cui Bloomberg Space di Londra, Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum di Helsinki, The Baltic a Gateshead, Turner Contemporary di Margate, Spike Island a Bristol, Künstlerhaus a Stoccarda; PS1 a New York e al Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Shanghai. Blandy è rappresentato da Seventeen, Londra. I suoi film sono distribuiti da LUX.
TRAILER
LOCATION/TIMES
Thursday March 12 2020/Giovedì 11 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
PROGRAMME/PROGRAMMA
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: DELETE
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 18’, 2016. United Kingdom.
Commissioned by Praksis Oslo, Norway. In collaboration with Mennisker i Limbo (People in Limbo), in partnership with PNEK, Atelier Nord, and Notam.
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: ALTERNATIVE
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 19’ 52”, 2016-2017. United Kingdom.
Commissioned by New Art Exchange, Nottingham for "Untitled: Art on the Conditions of our time", made with Nottingham’s Women’s Cultural Exchange.
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: CONTROL
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 21’ 54”, 2016-2017. United Kingdom.
Commissioned and produced by FACT. Supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. With thanks HMP Altcourse, Keith McDonnell, Tony Connolly and the HMP Altcourse gym team, HMP Liverpool and Partners of Prisoners.
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: ESCAPE
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 19’ 52”, 2016-17. United Kingdom.
Commissioned by New Art Exchange, Nottingham for "Untitled: Art on the Conditions of our time", made with Nottingham’s Women’s Cultural Exchange.
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: BLACK DEATH
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 9’, 2017. United Kingdom.
Commissioned by Two Queens, Leicester, featured as part of the exhibition Wilderness Way at MIMA. Made in collaboration with Kamile Ofoeme.
FINDING FANON GAIDEN: LEGACY
Ultra HD video, color, sound, 16:9, 15’ 2017. United Kingdom.
Commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park, supported by Arts Council England.