Family Viewing
Location: London
Year founded: 2005
Address:
Acme Studios, 44 Copperfield Road London E3 4RR
Contact details:
Tel:+44 (0)7971 782 477
Email: jemima@jemimabrown.com
Website: familyviewing.info
Family Viewing is a peripatetic, episodic project initiated in 2005 by the artist Jemima Brown, one 1/2 of duo Jemima and Dolly Brown.
In essence, the Family Viewing project is simple. As a means to achieving a series of exhibitions and events Jemima proposed as a starting point a collaborative model of working that falls between the traditional processes and divides – or at least the representation of these – between artists and curators.
Interested in the notion of ‘family’, a strong feature of much of her work and the work of many of the artists whose work she admires, Jemima proposed a model for a serial (or ‘episodic’) project in which a broad interpretation of the idea of ‘family’ is central. The project was initiated by Jemima during 2005, and grew from a desire to contextualise her own artistic practice. As an experiment in curatorial practice it has taken on a life of its own and now exists in parallel to her current work as an artist.
The artists and curators invited to participate in the project not only use the thematic as a starting point or a reflection point, but the relationships built up by these groupings are structured to allow for the kinds of dynamics associated more clearly with ‘family’ interaction (soap operas, human drama, family therapy…) to be more acknowledged, more visible. The aspects of these interactions undeniably exist in more traditional artist-curator-gallery-institution-private collector structures, but are, for whatever reason, usually obscured by a veneer of professionalism.
Family Viewing poses the question whether this is necessary, or merely orthodox. There is no political position to the assumption, merely curiosity at what happens – for artists, curators, galleries and audiences- when this thematic and working process are linked.
Thus, Family Viewing is both process and product. These groupings or ‘families’ of artists and curators work together to produce projects or ‘episodes’. In effect, each episode becomes a snapshot or family album of the family dynamic created by Jemima with each new family: a new configuration of artists and a new curator for each space hosting the project.
Family Viewing does not have gallery premises. Previous episodes have included ‘The Pilot Episode - Family Portraits’ (2006), made in collaboration with Showroom Mama of Rotterdam, for Art Rotterdam artfair and other venues. Later in 2006 Family Viewing presented an episode at Curator Space in London, (a temporary project space offered to independent curators and artists by Waugh Thistleton Architectural practice), and in 2007 an episode curated by Melanie Moreau was held at Vegas Gallery in London.
Further details of the project are on the website www.familyviewing.info
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Showing at Trajector:
Family Viewing will make a solo presentation of a 2009 video work by German artist Yvonne Wahl, 'Es gibt doch nur das Leben, den Tod gibt es doch gar nicht' (translated: Is it not only life that exists and death not at all?)
Es gibt doch nur das Leben, den Tod gibt es doch gar nicht - exists of very slow observative camera movements through the interior of an apartment without human beings, although one is continuously aware of the person that lived (and died?) in this apartment. The furniture and props in the rooms are dated but not too far away from being recognized as nowadays, it is a soft mix between old fashioned and temporary objects: on one side the brown wooden walls and furniture, on the other side the computer and modern medical objects. One can make up a sad situation of an older or sick person but at the same time it could have been a happy person that was able to enjoy life because of good medical treatment. During the slow views through the rooms one has enough time to fantasize about all the oppositional elements of life and death.
Toine Horvers, 2011
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