AARON KOBLIN: VISION ON
Ffotogallery, Turner House, Penarth
Wed 4-Sat 7 Nov
‘Data Visualisation’ does sound like the kind of poncey rubbish topic for an exhibition that would make
Joe Public run for the hills. These uber-on-trend, commendably forward-looking galleries don’t always do
themselves massive favours, do they? “Data Visualisation?” Buzz exclaims incredulously. “Look, it ain’t so
difficult, we can do that too: 01000101 01000001 01010011 01011001.” [For all of the non-geeks amongst
you, dear readers, those ones and zeros say ‘EASY’ in binary code]. But Buzz digresses. Rather a lot.
So, ‘Data Visualisation’ is the name of the game, and it seems that Aaron Koblin is rather good at it,
described by Ffotogallery as “a leading artist specialising in data visualisation.” And, to be honest, his
selected works, which will be on show as part of Ffotogallery’s Vision On series exploring digital media
and technology in art, do sound genuinely intriguing and worth a look. From Flight Patterns, which uses
sophisticated tracking to chart in colours the flight patterns of US aeroplanes over 24 hours to create an
end result which is an almost-alive throbbing outline of America, to Koblin’s Grammy-nominated video
for Radiohead’s House Of Cards, this is an artist who has definitely harnessed rapidly evolving digital
technologies and used them effectively to create truly ‘new’ art.
Koblin himself is well-established as a pioneering genre-bending artist, and his art is part of the perma-
nent collections at The Museum Of Modern Art in New York. He is also involved with Google’s Creative
Lab, a project which paidcontent.org reports is “a lab focusing on ‘innovation’ and dedicated to finding
ways advertisers, agencies and entertainment companies can intersect.” No better man for the job, it
seems, when Koblin’s own website states that the artist “takes social and infrastructural data and uses it
to examine cultural trends and emergent patterns.”
art
Koblin’s exhibition lasts four days so catch it while you can. Check out the ffotogallery website for full
details. Admission: free. Info: www.ffotogallery.org / 029 2070 8870 REBECCA FENTON
TIM DAVIES: BETWEEN A ROCK FIBRE ART WALES: JOURNEYS AUXESIS: PERFORMANCE IF.... RABAB GHAZOUL
AND A HARD PLACE Rhondda Heritage Park Gallery, TactileBOSCH Gallery, Llandaff g39, Wyndham Arcade, Cardiff
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea Trehafod Until Sat 7 Nov Until Sat 29 Nov
Until Sun 6 Dec Until Sun 8 Nov
When artists Kim Fielding and Simon Mitch- Rabab Ghazoul was born and spent her
Tim Davies has an enviable resume to make This exhibition from the Fibre Art Wales
ell took over a 200-year-old former Victorian childhood in Iraq, and her exhibitions
any green-eyed aspiring artist shake their group is a collection made up of fine art
laundry in Llandaff, they were simply rescu- frequently explore the tensions of living in
fist meaningfully at their blank canvas. Win- expressions, using flexible and linear
ing a run-down building from the ‘obsessive a country that can be almost impossibly
ner of the Mostyn Open Prize in 1997, The materials in what is described as “a tra-
regeneration happening in Cardiff right different to her homeland.
National Eisteddfod Fine Art Gold Medal in ditional textile process”. This diverse and
now’. It is to their surprise that the Victorian For her Cardiff exhibition for If…., how-
2003, and shortlisted for the much-coveted colourful range of artwork varies from fi-
structure, reputable for its vast light space, ever, Rabab will reinterpret and restage,
Artes Mundi prize in 2004, the Swansea- bre installations to 3D sculptures. There is
has quickly become a prized gallery. within Cardiff city centre, the artist
based artist arguably best known for his also the inclusion of large scale tapestries,
After a number of successful events since Oyvind Fahlstrom’s 1966 work Mao-Hope-
thought-provoking multimedia installations hangings and minuscule embroideries.
opening in June 2000, such as Lapse and March. This performance work, and the
is currently hot property. This is this is the fifth touring exhibition
an-Aesthetic, TactileBOSCH’s next show- 16mm film which documents it, consisted
Davies’ latest solo exhibition features a from this group, which is made up of pro-
ing will be a series of live art exhibitions of a pseudo-protest in which Fahlstrom
strangely compelling series called Bridges, fessional contemporary Welsh fibre artists
taking place under the title Auxesis. Live and a group of his friends walked through
which, in a move that seems to be a little and designers. Proud of its Welsh origin
art is spontaneous, performance-based the streets of New York carrying placards
at odds with his digital work, uses found and inspiration, the artwork has also be-
design and ‘auxesis’ generally means to bearing the photographs of Bob Hope
images of bridges from all around the come renowned in the UK and abroad. On
develop, which explains why this first and Mao-Tse-tung, while an interviewer
world. The artist has manipulated these top of that, individual members have won
exhibition, sees artists building upon their recorded the responses of passers-by and
images by removing all background to national awards and exhibited their work
surroundings, in designated spaces. For their answers to the question, “Do you
pare the bridges down to the structures throughout the world from Australia, New
Fielding and Mitchell this will undoubtedly consider yourself to be happy?”
that they are which, in the gallery’s own Zealand and Japan to the USA and across
provide a proud juxtaposition with the By first inviting people to suggest new
words, “in doing so brings vividly to our at- Europe and collectively the group has
commercial development that swallowed political and cultural icons for the 21st
tention their real and symbolic meanings.” exhibited throughout the UK and Ireland.
the old Tiger Bay and continues to spread. Century, Rabab hopes to then re-enact
Perchance a little bit of publicity depart- Included in the exhibition is work by
Indeed the official aim of the exhibition, Fahlstrom’s 1966 work, taking to the
ment BS? Probably. But nonetheless, the Bethan Ash, Louise Bird, Claire Cawte,
curated by Neil Jeffries, is to demonstrate streets to gauge the happiness of pass-
pictures themselves could indeed almost Helen Foroughi, Michelle Griffiths, Ruth
the awareness of ‘aesthetic and historical ers-by.
be described as haunting, as if remov- Harries, Alison Mercer, Ruth McLees,
facets of their context that many live Rabab’s body of work is dispersed across
ing the chaff from the original images of Alison Moger, Lisa Porch, Laura Thomas
artists bring to their performance work’. a variety of media, including video, instal-
the constructions in situ does lend the and Sandie Welch.
In short, it is unlikely you will find designs lations, text, performance and site-based
various arches and supports more than a This exhibition is inspired by observations
for another Pizza Express. work. A social observer and commentator,
man-made quality, and does, surprisingly, of the world around us and it is keen to
The TactileBOSCH gallery will be the she produces work in response to the diffi-
provoke unexpected emotions such as express personal and social issues as well
perfect setting for such an expedition, culties of living between two cultures.
loneliness, sadness and even contentment. as reflecting journeys and the changes
Victorian beams cutting a vibrant contrast This is the latest instalment of {If....},
Also included will be various 2D works and and developments that happen over time.
with the austere white walls and, with Car- which is a series of projects by artists,
various video pieces including Kilkenny Journeys offers insights into new explora-
diff’s best live artists working alongside a curators and other arts professionals of
Shift (2009) which is a site-responsive tion in the current visual fibre art climate.
talented international group, Auxesis: Per- any level who have an idea they’d like to
work. Admission: free. Info: 01792 Admission: free. Info: 01443 682036 /
formance will surely be a sight to behold. try out in a gallery environment.
516900 / www.glynnviviangallery.org www.rhonddaheritagepark.com (DLB)
Admission: free. Info: 07951 256255 / Admission: free. Info: 01792 516900 /
(RF)
www.tactilebosch.org (JW) www.swansea.gov.uk (QI)
BUZZ 40
NOVEMBER 2009.indd 40 28/10/09 10:34:10
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