The Fool

About

FROM THE CURATORS...

When reality can be bleak, the artist can be a welcome symbol of hope, imagination and cosmic possibility. What the artist in this ‘court’ offers is one of a number of possibilities:

A playful and silly temporary escape from the present
A representation of now in magical or funny ways
A damning mirror dressed up as folly
An act of self-deprecating sabotage
A transformative space of possibility and challenge

The fool is all of these things and more; a shapeshifter, role player, beguiling imposter. The butt of the joke, class clown, impotent ass.

The fool holds a mirror up to what is happening around us, and creates a cathartic space for us to laugh at ourselves, and the absurdity of our lives. The traditional jester in the medieval court was afforded license to question and playfully provoke, to ask the question that no one else in the room dared, and would get away with it too, as no one took the word of the fool seriously.

When the political landscape we live in presents itself as a bleak panto – everything suddenly feels topsy turvy, and we are reminded that the methods a traditional fool might use, can be used by anyone. Even a country’s leader. And that, when mastered, the fool’s skills can be exploited – even to win over the majority of votes and in turn, make a ‘fool’ of us.

On Portland Street, in a neighbourhood just a 5 minute walk from AirSpace Gallery (and where our work as The Portland Inn Project/PIP began and operates), residents speak about the importance of “relief”. They talked about PIP’s programme and the artists we work with offering just that – a relief from reality, a way to see things differently and in doing so, a chance to hope.

We often talk about, as artists ourselves, how we feel like the fool in so many contexts we operate in. Creating our own court through our practices, by bringing more people to the table – and in doing so – collapsing the hierarchies that usually present themselves at those tables – institutional and otherwise. We relish in flipping ways of seeing – and creating space where we can encourage others to see things differently, but also to play the fool themselves.

Over the last few years in a testing context politically, socially and environmentally, we sought relief and were able to step back from the situation by fooling ourselves – seen in some of the works exhibited here. We also found hope, relief and escape in the work of others – some are part of this show.

The works here unpick some of the ways that The Fool has traditionally taken up a position in our society, and then go beyond that, to offer space for reflection on the role of the fool today. As well as being a space to consider the social and political context, we also aim for the exhibition and events surrounding and leading up to it, to be a space of respite from the dark times. We will always need the fool, to make us laugh, to make us sing, to make us think.
 

In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.
– Bertolt Brecht

Just as we will always sing, we will also always laugh – but there are many types of song, and many types of laugh. As you walk through, you may note an encounter with the cheap laugh, the belly laugh, the laugh of pathos or the laugh of joy – no matter which, we hope you feel better for it.

PUBLIC PROGRAMME

ARTIST SOUP KITCHEN
THE FOOL – A CURATORS' TALK
Saturday 20 August 12-2pm
TICKETS
A super special curators' walk and talk through the exhibition followed by Artist Soup Kitchen discussing the artist as 'fool'. Join the curators for this intimate tour of the exhibition followed by a hearty soup and open discussion–and a little bit of foolery for good measure.

FAMILY RAVE IN THE GALLERY!
Saturday 27 August 1-3pm
FREE TICKETS
Come play THE FOOL - dress up, paint your face, let your hairs down and dance to a DJ set. Glow sticks will be provided. Suitable for all ages

PUBLIC QUEER
Saturday 3 September 1-4pm
FREE TICKETS
In this hands-on workshop, participants will work with artist MsDmeanr to suggest and enact new Public Art to better represent communities across the city. Join us to think about what's missing from our local landscape and create temporary interventions that will permanently stick in the public's mind!

LOLZ MIXTAPE FILM CLUB
Friday 16 September 6.30-8pm
FREE TICKETS
Join Anna Francis and Rebecca Davies for a night of LOLZ as they share with you a mixtape of some of their favourite comedy. Film Club is an informal get together featuring guest curators opening up their interests, practices and areas of research and create space for questions and discussion with guests.

ARTIST SOUP KITCHEN
PROFOUND SILLINESS: THE FOOL AS AN EGG-SPURT
Saturday 17 September 12-2pm
TICKETS
Join AirSpace Fool-in-Residence, Huge Sillytoe and Cultural Theorist, Fabienne Formosa for a dive into the deep meaninglessness of fooling and rallying against the commonplace rejection of nonsense as trivial. Major themes will include (de)constructions of madness, anti-authoritarianism(s), eggs, and spurts.

* All events are FREE to attend. Some events require booking your place due to restrictions on numbers. Click the relevant links above for booking info.