Matt's Gallery presents TAPS: Improvisations with Paul Burwell at Dilston Grove, London

About

Paul Burwell was infamous for his exuberant fusions of fine-art installation, percussion and explosive performance. He was a staunch advocate of, and passionate participant in, all forms of experimental art. TAPS: Improvisations with Paul Burwell, realised by Anne Bean, Robin Klassnik and Richard Wilson embodies his prolific practice.
Over the course of three days TAPS will combine film, installation and performance, portraying layers of interpretation from more than 80 invited collaborators, in response to Burwell's poem 'Adventures in the House of Memory'. The poem arose from improvisations by Anne Bean and Paul Burwell in preparation for William Burroughs's Final Academy at Ritzy, London in 1982, where improvised words were written on huge sheets of flash paper which were ignited as they were sung. The poem was the last recorded Burwell work two months before he died in 2007. TAPS collaborators, including Steven Berkoff, Evan Parker, Rose English and Paul McCarthy, have each created a short film or audio work in response to the poem - a body of new collaborations for, about or 'with' Burwell. The resulting pieces have been reinterpreted and edited by Anne Bean with Chris Bishop to form a composite, hour-long, double screen film: a "collective totem" of interwoven strands reflecting the poem's own episodic character. The film is shown as part of a screen installation constructed by Richard Wilson. By adding its own sounds and actions, this structure becomes a part player in the final act of the last evening, during a performance by Ansuman Biswas.
Diverse live performances will occur at various times across TAPS three-day run. Each performer will reflect Burwell's ethos of exploration and inter-connectivity within the framework of Burwell's poem, the film, Wilson's installation and the remarkable architectural space of Dilston Grove.
Each collaborator's original film or audio work will be available in full online through Vimeo from September, a link for which can be accessed through Matt's Gallery website www.mattsgallery.org
A publication with an essay by David Toop and drawings by Paul McCarthy, published by Matt's Gallery, will be available free to visitors throughout the event.

TAPS is supported by a Legacy: Thinker in Residence Award to Anne Bean. Legacy is a collaboration between the Live Art Development Agency and Tate Research, financially assisted by Arts Council England and the Live Art Development Agency. Legacy acknowledges the outstanding bodies of work of two artists who have influenced the development of the Live Art field by supporting them to think about the legacies of performance in art historical contexts and examine the processes and challenges of archiving live work. The Legacy recipients are Anne Bean and Tim Etchells. Further information http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk

Anne Bean is an Artsadmin artist.

For further information or visual material please contact Matilda Strang at Matt's Gallery - t (020) 8983 1771, e info@mattsgallery.org