Alternative Risk Transfer

About

The show is exploring the matrix of chance, skill and risk—taking. Downstairs, the exhibition will include Britain's most notorious performance artist, Mark McGowan, inviting participants to enter a booth in which they are asked to ‘take a risk' in front of a video camera attached to a monitor outside. Simon Foxall's jurassic painting will teeter on the brink of representation while Christopher Thomas' confrontational image-making (pictured) will engage head-on with the politics of the exhibition itself. In an exploration of physical limitation, Yuki Higashino will sing himself to exhaustion on a daily basis while Taiwanese graffiti artist The Big Other will challenge global institutions to stick their necks above the parapet and define ‘what is democracy?' Other participating artists include E A Byrne, Elena Cecchinato, Ali Eisa, Patrick Goddard, Catharine Harrington, Jari Kennedy, Jamie Lau, Oliver MacDonald, Stimulus Ltd and Scott Schwager. Works will range across sculpture, painting, photography, performance and video in an environment where visitors are encouraged to interact and test their nerve A gambling den installation in the upper floor will host late night poker games, where the 16 artists will stake their art against collectors and journalists, in which collectors and journalists can potentially acquire the works. All artworks will be assessed by a Valuation Committee prior to the exhibition to assign a guide price for which they will receive betting chips for the poker game. The price will be set through an assessment of critical, aesthetic and symbolic value and how this might relate to financial value. Alternative Risk Transfer" is curated by Eugene Perera in collaboration with Eiko Honda and Christopher Thomas, and wishes to initiate reflection on the nature of value, commodification and risk-taking in art practise.