Freedom of Others

'Freedom of Others', at Salisbury Arts Centre (http://www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk), is an exhibition curated by Guli Silberstein, composed from four video works dealing with social-political issues.

Collaboratively presented, the video four works invite thought and discussion regarding the position of the suppressed and the subordinate, exploring moments of defiance and self-discovery through diverse digital video practices, referring to issues of gender, race, politics and family.

Liron Kroll’s hyperreal ‘High Expectations’, inspired by Richard Yates’ ’11 Kinds of Loneliness’, explores pressures to conform and live up to feminine roles and ideals. Its protagonists seem trapped in staged suburban scenarios. Delicate colour and dispersed lighting create an eerie tension through unnatural beauty.

Jean-Gabriel Periot’s ‘The Devil’ remixes 1960s footage of repression, ill treatment and retaliation of African Americans in the context of the Black Panthers’ civil rights protests, highlighting the identity search of the oppressed. A frenetic rock soundtrack and rhythmic video editing suggest ebullient propaganda, putting the archive footage in a new, contemporary context.

‘My Wonderland’ by Kate Rowles is a whimsical work in which the artist, dressed somewhere between a little girl and a 50s housewife, looms huge in front of her childhood home. ‘Directed’ by her father from behind the camera, she is tracing the house’s outlines and interacts with her mother who seems miniature in the background.

Guli Silberstein's ‘Disturbdance’ shows a young woman trying to shield protesters from armed soldiers in the West Bank, Palestinian Territories. Slow motion, a lyrical soundtrack and digital manipulation create a distance and make the scene almost balletic, but intense and dangerous at the same time.

The exhibition motto of 'art as communication' is manifested in interactive areas in the exhibition. A reading space offers books related to the video works on show, and surrounding themes of heroism, resistance, power, and the challenging of stereotypical social roles. Visitors are invited to browse the books whilst lounging on beanbags. In the ‘creativity area’ materials are available for visitors to recreate video art techniques and effects in the form of an art work on paper.

Feedback, questions and suggestions would be welcomed on the exhibition’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FreedomOfOthers , which is continuously updated with information, videos and articles concerning social-political video-art.