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Rob Blake, "PMSL. A stdy n2 msgs n msundrstndngz", installation view, Centrum Berlin, 2017, Photo: Ute Klein
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Rob Blake, "PMSL. A stdy n2 msgs n msundrstndngz", installation view, Centrum Berlin, 2017, Photo: Ute Klein
Exhibition
Rob Blake - PMSL. A stdy n2 msgs n msundrstndngz
14 Jan 2017 – 10 Feb 2017
Address
- Reuterstr. 7
- Berlin
Berlin - 12053
- Germany
We are thrilled to announce our first exhibition of the year: Rob Blake presents a series of new works that deal with the symbiotic relationship between technology and social spheres, considering how it functions in our daily lives amid increasing social and economic inequality.
About
**This show will also be part of the transmediale and CTM Vorspiel 2017**
In his painting FUCK MY LIFE, an impasto of texting acronyms are written in full, layering expressions of despair, hopelessness and anger, which jostle on the canvas. The expanded phrases such as ‘oh my god’, ‘what the fuck’ and ‘fuck my life’ casually describe feelings of fear, as complex emotions and scenarios are reduced to an apathetic, nonsensical static. This reflects the multiple voices and confusion of today’s online world. Questions are triggered about the role of technology as a social connector but also a facilitator of passive-aggressive behaviour, highlighting the fine line between freedom of speech and the legitimization of hate speech.
In the video FUCK ME OR FUCK OFF, Blake treats the McDonald’s jingle ‘I’m loving it’ as a self-perpetuating entity. The theme tune is released into the wild, crying out to animals of the forest. It attempts to entrench itself within the vocabulary of local wildlife, to be accepted, copied and duplicated by the birds, living on as a quasi life form. Heard by this new audience, its original connotations are lost; accepted and repeated as a meme in its own right, its cheery hyper-capitalistic origins go unquestioned and undenounced.
In the companion piece CITY BIRD the artist presents an interactive sculpture comprising a rotating wheel and two mobile phones. These phones are engaged in a perpetual phone call with one another. Through this endless conversation, surrounding sounds are captured, distorted and repeated; the wheel’s movement, visitor’s voices, and importantly, the jingle from FUCK ME OR FUCK OFF. This cacophony of sound creates an unsettling atmosphere, suggesting the overload of information in our daily lives. Messages become so compounded that they are impossible to separate, their original intention confused and lacking meaning through hyperactivity.
A catalogue will accompany the exhibition, documenting the artist’s research and production process. Stay tuned for more details about the exhibition and the events programme.
