Not Quite How I Remember It, Catalogue Essay

Reckitt, Helena. 2008. Not Quite How I Remember It, Catalogue Essay. [Exhibition Catalogue]

[img]
Preview
Text
Not Quite How I Remember It_Catalogue Essay_Helena Reckitt.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (170kB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Text
NQHIRI catalogue The Power Plant.pdf - Published Version

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract or Description

Written in conjunction with the group exhibition ‘Not Quite How I Remember It’, at The Power Plant, Toronto (7 June - 1 September, 2008), the catalogue essay considers how artists reconstruct events, narratives and cultural artifacts from the recent past. It focuses on works by exhibiting artists Diane Borsato, Gerard Byrne, Nancy Davenport, Felix Gmelin, Sharon Hayes, Mary Kelly, Nestor Kruger, Michael Maranda, Olivia Plender, Walid Raad, Dario Robleto, Michael Stevenson, Kelley Walker, and Lee Walton.

Exploring how artists revisit iconic as well as obscure histories, Reckitt shows how these strategies aim to wrest the past from master narratives in order to reveal suppressed or forgotten details, and to propose unexpected connections and speculative futures. She highlights artistic tactics of montage, sampling, remixing, restaging, and reconstruction, noting how they often take surprisingly laborious forms. Discussing how artworks reflect on the complexities of cultural and artistic transmission, influence and inheritance, Reckitt notes how these practices pay tribute to figures and groups who are rarely depicted within official histories. She highlights artists' concern with how radical political and cultural legacies are both bequeathed to and deployed by subsequent generations. Evoking the exhibition's atmosphere of layered time, Reckitt suggests that it sharpens viewers’ awareness of historical place, while prompting questions about how future generations will represent current times.

Item Type:

Exhibition Catalogue

Additional Information:

The catalogue included an introduction by Gregory Burke, a series of artist pages for exhibiting artists, and an essay by art historian and critic Johanna Burton, ‘One Person Protests: Notes About Going (Back) There.’

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Art

Date:

7 June 2008

Event Location:

The Power Plant, Canada

Date range:

7 June 2017-1 September 2008

Item ID:

20103

Date Deposited:

24 Mar 2017 14:37

Last Modified:

29 Apr 2020 16:25

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/20103

View statistics for this item...

Edit Record Edit Record (login required)