DILSTON GROVE, London

 

 

 

Matt's Gallery presents TAPS: Improvisations with Paul Burwell at Dilston Grove, London.

17-19 September 2010:
Friday 2-10pm: continuous film screening 2pm-7pm, performances from 7-10pm
Saturday 2-10pm: continuous film screening and performances from 2-10pm.
Closing view with final event 6-8pm

Paul Burwell was infamous for his exuberant fusions of fine-art installation, percussion and explosive performance. He was a staunch advocate of, and passionate participant in, all forms of experimental art. TAPS: Improvisations with Paul Burwell, realised by Anne Bean, Robin Klassnik and Richard Wilson embodies his prolific practice.

Over the course of three days TAPS will combine film, installation and performance, portraying layers of interpretation from more than 80 invited collaborators, in response to Burwell's poem Adventures in the House of Memory. The poem arose from improvisations by Anne Bean and Paul Burwell in preparation for William Burroughs Final Academy at Ritzy, London in 1982, where improvised words were written on huge sheets of flash paper which were ignited as they were sung.  The poem was the last recorded Burwell work two months before he died in 2007. The body of collaborators, including Steven Berkoff, Evan Parker, Rose English and Paul McCarthy, have responded to the poem by each creating a short film or audio work as a new collaboration for, about or 'with' Burwell.

Fragments of the collaborators' film or audio works, now make a collective totem in a two screen, one hour composite film interpreted and edited by Anne Bean and Chris Bishop. This resulting work resonates with the poem's innate episodic chronicles, as slivers interleaf together and runs continuously throughout each day. The film is shown as part of a screen installation constructed by Richard Wilson. By adding its own sounds and actions, this structure becomes a part player in the final act of the last evening, during a performance by Ansuman Biswas.

Live performances form another layer of exploration, echoing the sense of inter-connectivity created by the installation. Performances by Shaun Caton, William Cobbing, Kaffe Matthews, Juneau Projects (Friday 6-10pm), Melissa Castagnetto, Steve Noble & Oren Marshall and Yol (Saturday 6-10pm) and Ryuzo Fukuhara, performing during Sunday afternoon, improvise within the context of the poem, film, installation and space at Dilston Grove. Each performer encompasses a practice that reflects the context and ethos in which Burwell worked. The performances will take place at various times during the event.

Each collaborator's original film or audio work will be available in full online through Vimeo from September, a link for which can be accessed through the Matt's Gallery website http://www.mattsgallery.org/

A publication with an essay by David Toop and drawings by Paul McCarthy, published by Matt's Gallery will be available free to visitors throughout the event.

TAPS is supported by a Legacy: Thinker in Residence Award to Anne Bean.

Legacy is a collaboration between the Live Art Development Agency and Tate Research, financially assisted by Arts Council England and the Live Art Development Agency. Legacy acknowledges the outstanding bodies of work of two artists who have influenced the development of the Live Art field by supporting them to think about the legacies of performance in art historical contexts and examine the processes and challenges of archiving live work. The Legacy recipients are Anne Bean and Tim Etchells. Live Art Development Agency

Anne Bean is an Artsadmin artist.

Image:
Film still, TAPS: Improvisations with Paul Burwell, 2010
Original films - Paul McCarthy, David Ellis & Lee Merrill
Courtesy the artists and Matt's Gallery, London

DILSTON GROVE
Southwark Park
London SE16 2UA
T +44 (0)20 7237 1230

Dilston Grove is at the Southwest corner of Southwark Park
Tube: Canada Water on the Jubilee & Overground Lines
Buses: 1,47, 188, 199, 225, 381, C10, P12

CGP London: Dilston Grove

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