About
Stranger Things Are Happening
Jonathan Baldock, David Blandy, Olaf Breuning, Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson, David Ferrando, Erkka Nissinen, Kim Noble and Plastique Fantastique
Stranger Things Are Happening presents new and existing work by several international artists/groups who work in the fields of contemporary sculpture, video installation and live art. The exhibition opens with a weekend of live events, screenings and installations within the gallery and a selection of off-site venues throughout Portsmouth.
Stranger Things Are Happening brings together artists that use diverse media to create works which convey bizarre scenarios, poking at the human psyche. The artists involve themselves either as character or as narrator, using theatrical backdrops and humour to delve into the more challenging and questionable aspects of society. They invent fantasy personalities and situations that examine matters such as the hysteria around mass media and popular culture, and the place the characters (or us as individuals) have within them. Under a seemingly flippant, amusing and sometimes sinister surface, the artists are gesturing at moral issues including religion, race, gender, identity and even the role of art itself.
EVENTS & EDUCATION:
Saturday 27 June:
Open day of events, please see www.aspex.org.uk
EASTvideo
Wednesday 15 July, 6.30pm
A programme of moving image works selected from EASTinternational 2009
Plastique Fantastique Artist Talk
Saturday 1 August, 4pm
Plastique Fantastique will discuss their work within the exhibition, their collaborative practice and present documentation of their extensive body of work including performances, exhibitions and text.
Panel Discussion: Empty Opportunities - Art in vacant shops
Thursday 6 August, 6.30pm
A discussion in light of the recent Arts Council's Town Centre Initiative. A panel, including Rachael House and Jo David from Space Station Sixty-Five, will discuss the use of vacant high street units by artists and the recent government response in a time of recession.
Chaired by Jude Bennett, curator of Stranger Things Are Happening.
Summer Holiday Workshops
A series of three-day holiday workshops for children aged 8-13 held throughout the exhibition. Children will work alongside artists in the gallery to create their own responses to Stranger Things Are Happening
28-30 July lead artists Wendy Middleditch and Suzie Darcel
4-6 August lead artist Mel Rose
11-13 August lead artist Roy Brown
Booking information
Workshops cost £17.50 per three-day week. Booking is essential as places are limited, please contact the gallery for more details.
