(image credit: 'Hey Doll' (still) Agate Tūna & Plastic Afterlife).
METAHORROR
Kristaps Ancāns, Natasha Brown, Francesco Felletti, Madara Gruntmane, Marc Hulson, Medb Mcpherson & Donna Poingdestre, Marine One, Agate Tūna & Plastic Afterlife (Kristians Aglonietis & Patrīcija Māra Vilsone)
19-28 April 2024
PV: Thursday 18th April 6-8pm
Open: Fri - Sun 1-6pm
From the narrative tradition of the ‘tale within a tale’ to the ‘found-footage’ movie, the potential for metafictional reading is a constant thread in the history of the fantastic as a genre: the DIY aesthetics of low budget horror undermine the flawless simulations of commercial spectacle, while the mutant forms of experimental cinema burrow further beneath the surface, between and behind the scenes of the image.
The six short videos included in this exhibition play knowingly with these possibilities, teasing out a self-reflexive framework for experimenting with genre conventions, while probing assumptions about the distinction between art and entertainment.
They were initially screened as part of ‘Metahorror meets Metahumour’ at Central Saint Martins Lethaby Gallery in 2023, and the showreel incorporates a series of improvised performances produced onsite for that event.
For this reiteration of the work at BOTH Gallery, the videos will be juxtaposed with a kinetic sculptural assemblage that converses with the dynamics of the moving image.
Metahorror continues a series of dialogues and collaborations between staff, students and alumni of MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and MA Post at the Art Academy of Latvia.
