Cerith Wyn Evans New Commission
Cerith Wyn Evans
Eaux dartifice (after K.A.)
Barbican Art Gallery
The Conservatory, Level 3, Barbican Centre
Every Sunday in July/05, 12 noon – 5pm, Admission Free
Each Sunday in July hear Cerith Wyn Evanss exciting new commission, Eaux dartifice (after K.A.), played in and inspired by the Barbicans beautiful giant greenhouse. Evans will transform the Conservatory into a space reminiscent of an 18th century pleasure garden, a setting for music and theatre and a stage for exotica. What you encounter will in part be dictated by chance, as performance times will not be announced, and each week will have a different character, from an explosive furious feel to the flowering of a garden.
The overall event is conceived as a single work, which will build over the course of the month. It takes its title from a short film by Kenneth Anger, Eaux dartifice (1953) shot in a pleasure garden in Italy and references the work of composer John Cage, who once created a musical transliteration of a Zen rock garden. July 3, 17 and 24 feature a continuous recorded soundtrack that Evans has created especially for the event, interspersed with live performances from harpists, choirs a gamelan orchestra and others. On July 10 the programme consists of the manipulation of birdsong and other ambient sound within the Conservatory. July 31 also features performances, but will essentially be silent.
Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 Wales, based in London) has exhibited in venues such as the Art Now space at Tate Britain (2001), White Cube, London (2003), MIT List Visual Art Centre and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2004). In the course of his career Evans has worked with film, photography, performance and sculpture, as well as with sound. In 2003 the artist made a sound work for the Luis Barragan house in Mexico City, and he is currently creating a sound-and-light piece for the exterior of Kunsthaus Graz.
The Conservatory is accessed from directly opposite the entrance to the Barbican Art Gallery. This event is part of an extensive programme of summer activities organised by Barbican Art Gallery, including events which relate to the exhibitions Colour After Klein (Barbican Art Gallery until 11 Sep/05) and Folk Archive: Contemporary Popular Art from the UK (Curve until 24 Jul/05). For more details see www.barbican.org.uk.
Funded by Arts Council England