Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work
8 May – 11 July 2009

Belvedere Road,
London SE1 8XT

www.bfi.org.uk/gallery

The Gallery presents Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work, a new commission by British artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. Their 3D video installation takes as its starting point one of the first 3D films ever produced – The Man from M.A.R.S. (A 2D version known as Radio-Mania, 1923 is held in the BFI National Archive). The artists have set about creating a contemporary adaptation of this film; they staged a rehearsal and filmed this using current 3D video and audio technology, capturing the actors, directors and musicians working on the script and score. The script was written in collaboration with writer and novelist Kirk Lake and the remarkable cast includes Kevin Eldon, Caroline Catz, Terrence Hardiman and Fenella Fielding.

The Man from M.A.R.S. was made in 1922 to demonstrate ‘Teleview’, a stereoscopic motion picture system created by Laurens Hammond who later went on to invent the Hammond Organ. In this silent film an inventor builds a radio transmission device capable of communicating with life on Mars only to wake up and find it was a dream. Following its premiere in New York, the film closed 24 days later, after which neither ‘Teleview’ nor the 3D film were seen again.

The Gallery has been transformed into a mind-bending stereoscopic limbo, warping the viewer’s sense of space and time. It is a compelling work-in-progress stuck on repeat, like a locked-groove record. This entertaining, stark and immersive installation recalls Beckett, summoning an atmosphere that oscillates between the theatricality of the stage and the illusionism of cinema – occupying a state between extended reality and hallucination.

During exhibitions, the Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) from 11:00 – 20:00

Entrance to the BFI Southbank Gallery is FREE.

Screenings and Events

The exhibition is accompanied by a series of screenings and events:

A Bunch of Fives
In dialogue with Elisabetta Fabrizi, BFI Head of Exhibitions, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard re-present their past work and key influences in a glittering sequence of five minute wonders.
Tue 19 May 18:10 NFT3

Thou Shalt Not Know What Thou Do But Thou Shalt Do It + O Lucky Man!
The evening of 27 May will kick off in NFT3 at 18:10 with a programme of works by artists’ and filmmakers selected by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, followed at 19:50 by a screening of O Lucky Man!, by Lindsay Anderson (1973) the artists’ favourite film.

Preview: Do you love me like I love you, Part 5: Tender Prey + Q&A with the artists and Nick Cave.
Preview of one of the artists’ short films produced to accompany the 2009 re-issue of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ influential catalogue, followed by a Q&A.
Wed 17 June 18:20 NFT1

Vinyl
Dir. Alan Zweig, 2000.
A record collector himself, Zweig created an honest and self reflective film that will not fail to entertain and which has been inspirational to Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard.
Fri 26 June 19:50 NFT3

Radio-Mania + Discussion
Dir. Roy William Neil, 1923.
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard’s new work was inspired by this prophetic curio of the silent screen, originally presented in stereoscopic ‘Teleview’. The artists will lead a post-screening discussion with guests.
Thu 9 July 18:10 NFT3

For more information, visit www.bfi.org.uk/gallery or call 020 7928 3232

BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT