Available for Exhibition - email: admin AT brighter DOT org
Surrounded by children during a televised Christmas speech from the Albert Hall, London, the eyes of Queen Elizabeth II dart momentarily to one side. The tiny movement is broadcast nationwide by BBC Television.
Whilst the Monarch waits in the House of Lords to deliver the opening speech to a new Parliament, 'Black Rod' is sent to summon the Members of the Commons. Ritual demands that the door to the House of Commons is first slammed in his face, and he is compelled to strike it with a stick. These sounds are broadcast by BBC Radio.
The installation uses a small fragment of the television footage described above, re-shot in close-up from a TV screen, divided into key frames, and digitally re-animated. A continuous sequence edited from this material appears simultaneously on several black & white CCTV monitors fixed to brackets high on the walls of a given space, locations more commonly associated with surveillance cameras.
The Monarch's imperious surveying gaze is intermittently distracted by the reverberating noise of the slammed House of Commons door, replayed from a speaker further along the wall.
Installation view, Site Gallery Sheffield
Funding & exhibition information
....
Bothered (Black Rod) was first exhibited in Crowd Control, funded by Yorkshire & Humberside Arts Board.
Crowd Control was first presented by Site Gallery Sheffield, September 28 - November 16 1996 and toured to Street Level Glasgow and The Bonington Gallery Nottingham in 1997
Crowd Control included:
A Wave CD audio
You Are Here beer mats
Bothered (Black Rod) installation
The Nature of Their Joy installation
The Unwritten Constitution installation
Crowd Control catalogue published by Site Gallery, with an essay by Rob Stone ISBN 1 899926 15 1
See reviews & press - Crowd Control (use sidebar titles)
