Vermeir & Heiremans — Masquerade
Film Screening and In-Conversation with the Artists
Friday 14 December 6.30 - 9pm
Screening starts at 7pm
Followed by In-Conversation and Refreshments
Free, but space is limited, click here to reserve a place
In their practice, Belgian artist duo Vermeir & Heiremans define their own house as an artwork, using it as a framing device to focus on the growing financialisation of the arts, urban space and daily life. The artists employ financial tools, historical references and cinematic language to reflect on art's role in the production (and possible distribution) of value in today’s artistic and non-artistic realms.
On the occasion of Vermeir & Heiremans' solo exhibition A Modest Proposal (in a Black Box) at Pump House Gallery, Battersea, FTHo is hosting a screening of their film Masquerade, which describes the development of the experimental financial index Art House Index. For this event the 'live' version of the work will be shown whereby the financial market influences the real-time 'cutting' of the film. The screening is followed by the artists in-discussion with FTHo curator Gareth Bell-Jones about their practice, and in particular the 'house as artwork’.
Set picture of Masquerade, Michael De Lausnay
Masquerade (2015), is a 51 minute 'factual-fiction reportage', in which a TV-reporter tells the story of the development of Art House Index (AHI–). AHI– is an experimental financial index that measures the economic and symbolic value of their 'house as art work', including the cultural capital and other symbolic values that Vermeir & Heiremans, as 'public persona', accrue.
The 'live' version of the film will be screened, in which the financial market influences the real-time 'cutting' of the film. The actual performance of AHI–, showing the index going up or down, according to real time data that derive from real estate and art markets and from the attention economy, triggers a switch between two timelines, one of which shows the fully post-produced 'finished' film while the other captures variations, rehearsals and outtakes. The artists have no control over the 'editing' of Masquerade, the markets creating a 'unique' moment in time as it is statistically highly improbable the audience will ever get to see the same combinations twice.
After the presentation Gareth Bell-Jones will talk with the artists about their practice, and in particular about the 'house as an art work', which also plays a significant role in their exhibition at Pump House Gallery. As they 'financialised' their own home through Art House Index, the artists decided to consider the financialisation of the gallery's real estate as their new case study.
Free, but space is limited, click here to reserve a place
MASQUERADE
Production year: 2015
Inaugural presentation: 2015
Production country: Belgium
Languages: English
Duration: ± 55’
Image: HDV / Color
Ratio: 16:9
Sound: Stereo
Pump House Gallery, situated beside a lake in Battersea Park, provides a welcoming space for audiences to see, participate and engage in contemporary art.
Supporting high quality artistic activity that provides audiences with different perspectives on how, where and why we live the way we do is at the heart of Pump House Gallery’s programme. Presenting work both in the gallery and off site, Pump House Gallery provides its audiences with a range of experiences and activities that unpack challenging, thought-provoking, contemporary issues. Pump House Gallery is delivered by Enable Leisure & Culture in partnership with Wandsworth Council.
Jubilee was first established as a dialogue among artists and cultural workers in 2012 in Brussels. Since then it has evolved into a platform that provides continuous support for the work of six artists, while hosting others on a project base. Jubilee’s focus is twofold. First, it is an organisation for the production of the work of these artists where research and collaboration are considered essential values. Second, these shared interests lead to collective, performative research projects that focus on the conditions of artistic production.
