In 2007 we were delighted to present the first UK exhibition by
SanFrancisco based artist Bernie Lubell. The exhibition formed part of
our, at the time, year-long UNsustainable programme, which debated the issues facing the planet.
Constructed from soft, sustainable woods the works on show are adamantly low-tech. They are ill-suited to be machines, and hover between functioning and not. Bernie uses simple natural materials to highlight the genius of old technologies that lend fresh consideration to contemporary issues. In particular, the artist takes inspiration from the work of French physiologist and chronophotographer Étienne-Jules Marey who was obsessed with understanding movement. From horses and birds to human limbs and the heartbeat, Marey's work was pioneering in cinematography, medical imaging, cardiology and aviation. After suffering from cardio problems in 1995 Bernie adapted Marey's pneumatic sensor technologies to explore the conflicted relationship we have with the machines we have become so dependent on.
Flying Flappers, 2009.
The exhibition featured a giant new commission A Theory of Entanglement and installations of previous works such as Conservation of Intimacy, ...and the Synapse Sweetly Singing and Etiology of Innocence in Galleries 1 and 2. In addition there was a collaborative project called Flying Flappers that was located in our, now named, Learning Space. For the summer of 2007, we turned the space into a family friendly area where everyone was invited to create their own flying bird out of recycled materials and incorporated it into the exhibition (or take home if people wished).
Text transcribed by Susie Mellor.
Exhibition delivered in partnership with V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam.
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