Ladbury PR

A navigation scheme for the Russian state library, drone shadow handbooks, hacked musical instruments, a heartfelt letter to Scotland, and the future of everything…

Brilliant, clever, fun, playful, surprising, inspiring, creative and beyond the imagination… this is Blurring the Lines; an exhibition curated and produced by Watershed for The British Council, which opened the other week, on 2 October 2014, at their headquarters on Spring Gardens.

This is culture in flux…

Blurring the Lines is brilliant, it’s about new ideas and communities, which are changing the way culture is experienced.  Its about networks and collaborations bringing together for the first time a range of 16 entrepreneurs, artists, filmmakers, architects, designers, musicians and curators, all pushing the boundaries of their cultural world.

“We had in mind a collection of sixteen people who represent new fundamental changes in working practice, technology trends and social and political impact from around the world”, says curator Ian Danby, from Watershed. “We wanted the Blurring the Lines exhibition to be playful and engaging, clear and distinctive . The 16 individuals highlighted chose an object that represented their practice to be displayed - from Playmobil security check points, synthesizers, to notebooks and GPS devices”.

Wander round and you are invited to listen to the stories told, explore and engage with the exhibits.  “We wanted visitors to be inspired to get out there themselves, and participate in making our world a better place,” says Watershed Producer Victoria Tillotson. “A place where the lines are blurred, the edges are stood on, and change is a reality.”

Each of the artists were chosen for their passion for collaboration, technology and creative thinking.   They come from all corners of the world, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, China, Japan and UK. From Elena Fortes (Mexico), whose film festival Ambulante is bringing documentary to unorthodox places, Ridwan Kamil (Indonesia), the Mayor of Bandung, who is reshaping the identity of his Indonesian city through good design, H. D Mabuse (Brazil) musician and artist whose project Pathways offers a platform to alleviate congestion in Recife by promoting the use of river taxis, and James Bridle (UK), who through his artwork makes visible the invisible.  His recent work Drone Shadows of 1:1 shows outlines of actual aircraft.

Each person featured, through their specific interpretations, brings something unique to the exhibition inspiring those who pass through, to look at the world around them with fresh eyes and see new possibilities. I know I can…

http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/projects/blurring-lines/

www.watershed.co.uk