NAME THAT BEACH MOVIE
the screen-based world - is it the reflector or the director?
do we imitate it, or does it imitate us?
'name that movie' explores common colonisation techniques through the “gods eye” of mainstream movies with an international reach. when witnessing a recurring action, some say ‘i’ve seen that movie’. it is an ambiguous expression of dismissal / resignation / fatigue, recognising predictability and history repeating itself. unless of course you haven’t seen the movie or are unaware of the history, then the expression is a way of opening up discussion. naming and defining is a way of breaking down the power of neo-liberal actions. in this instance ‘name that beach movie’ is a video that’s set up like a guessing game, a drinking game maybe?
the object of the game is to guess the movie through summary cues and a film excerpt. there are only a few (re)colonisation techniques named here, but there are plenty more. if you don’t recognise these movies then when you’re next on the couch – keep your sharp eye open. if you do recognise these colonisation techniques, then you need to get off the couch – with your sharp tongue!
keep naming the movies.
'name that beach movie' is a video study specific to the fascination with coastal areas as a contested site. most beach movies subconsciously say a lot about culture wars, often mirroring issues of belonging, identity, ownership, entitlement and consequent conflict.
Jenny Fraser
do we imitate it, or does it imitate us?
'name that movie' explores common colonisation techniques through the “gods eye” of mainstream movies with an international reach. when witnessing a recurring action, some say ‘i’ve seen that movie’. it is an ambiguous expression of dismissal / resignation / fatigue, recognising predictability and history repeating itself. unless of course you haven’t seen the movie or are unaware of the history, then the expression is a way of opening up discussion. naming and defining is a way of breaking down the power of neo-liberal actions. in this instance ‘name that beach movie’ is a video that’s set up like a guessing game, a drinking game maybe?
the object of the game is to guess the movie through summary cues and a film excerpt. there are only a few (re)colonisation techniques named here, but there are plenty more. if you don’t recognise these movies then when you’re next on the couch – keep your sharp eye open. if you do recognise these colonisation techniques, then you need to get off the couch – with your sharp tongue!
keep naming the movies.
'name that beach movie' is a video study specific to the fascination with coastal areas as a contested site. most beach movies subconsciously say a lot about culture wars, often mirroring issues of belonging, identity, ownership, entitlement and consequent conflict.
Jenny Fraser
RGB IN NETWORKING the UNSEEN Germany 2018
still image from Embrace of the Serpent
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NTFM featured in RGB for Networking the Unseen in Germany 2018
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Featured in a group showcase exhibition of New Media Art curated by Gretta Louw at Villa Merkel in Germany that, for the first time, features 10 years of my video installation and print series that are titled 'name that movie'. Coincidentally, in 2008 I was also invited to exhibit the first series of 'name that movie' at a gallery in Dachau (Germany). Now, a decade later I have been invited to show the follow on works as part of an ongoing series, and all together the survey of 3 video installations and prints are titled RGB, which stands for Red Green Blue, which are representative of the three small dot colours that make up each pixel on a computer screen, or TV. Networking the Unseen the title of the group exhibition representing cultural transfers in international contemporary art between the poles of digitality and earthing; culture and technology; history and future imaginings; between visibility and invisibility. Digitalisation and its consequences are amongst the most crucial themes of our time - every community on the planet must wrestle with them and find a way to cope. Increasingly, we are hearing digitalisation referred to in terms of an inevitable, conquering force with the capacity to completely re-form our societies. Networking the Unseen delves deep into the heart of the matter and demonstrates the ways in which culture and technology are irrevocably intertwined. The project sharpens our understanding of the processes oftechnologically driven cultural change and uncovers strategies through which we can regain some sovereignty over them. Networking the Unseen exhibits impressive and engaging installations, video art, site-specific painting, and digital artworks. Positions from predominantly First Nations (indigenous) Australian artists are brought into dialogue with art projects from Germany and Europe. Commonly perpetuated myths about the Internet are deconstructed, whilst analysing the specific social, psychological, and cultural ramifications of digitalisation. The Internet’s touted potential to connect people across extreme cultural, language, or geographical barriers — in reality, seldom realised — becomes tangible in this exhibition, along with the accompanying benefits of a more comprehensive knowledge production; the pursuit of tolerance and increasing appreciable cultural diversity; and a more conscious approach to all forms of cultural transformation.The exhibition presents new strategies for dealing with advancing technologies. In doing so, the work of contemporary artists from Indigenous Australian traditions and their unique cultural perspectives on media art are brought into the foreground and into an exchange with positions thatinterrogate our relationship to technology from a European point of view. The focus is on whether the development of digital technologies actually fulfil their promise of cultural and societal ‘advancement’, with powerful contrasts made between the ways of interacting with the whole technological notion of ‘progress’ from the different cultural perspectives of the artists. The Networking the Unseen exhibition has already toured to London in 2016, where I was able to exhibit part of the name that movie series of video installations and prints
http://www.metamute.org/community/your-posts/another-future-aboriginal-digital-art
http://www.villa-merkel.de/index.php?id=7&L=1
http://www.metamute.org/community/your-posts/another-future-aboriginal-digital-art
http://www.villa-merkel.de/index.php?id=7&L=1
SOLO EXHIbition at Boomalli Sydney 2016
'name that beach movie' print series solo exhibition at Boomalli Gallery in Sydney, Australia until early February 2016
my first Solo Exhibition in 12 years! :)
my first Solo Exhibition in 12 years! :)
