The collaborative group Metron have curated an exhibition at the O3 Gallery in Oxford, UK, based on various science books which were randomly given to each of the participating artists.
The exhibit coincides with both the Oxford Literary Festival and the UK's Year of Scienc
e.The books were kindly offered and selected by Oxford University Press.
I myself was given the rather challenging "Quarterly Journal of Mathematics and Mechanical
Engineering" to work with, which resulted in the accordion fold notebook shown here.
This is an ambitious exhibition, both in scope and media- there are dancers, performance artists, musical works, videos, paintings, drawings and objects all inhabiting the relatively modest curved tower that makes up the O3 Gallery. An accompanying booklet has been produced, and is essential to understanding this rather complex and obscure display. The works shown in the gallery all have numbers next to them, and the booklet provides much-needed information about the art-object's starting text, the artist, and the project itself. Without this, the exhibit might appear to be a rather intriguing but impenetrable collection of items.
Many of the works are dense and detailed, as the artist grappled with the task of transmuting the content of their starting text into visual form. I myself read and re-read my journal multiple times until I suffered from the illusion that I understood it, and then proceeded to work with it. As misinformation is as important to my output as "correct" interpretations, this did not pose a significant problem for me, but some of artists I spoke with had struggled with the enormity of the task of clarifying and distilling their projects into a coherent visual project.
I was delighted with the variety of work, and of the energy everyone had put into the whole thing: quite a labor of love on the whole, and a really interesting way to include visual arts into both the literary festival and the Year of Science.
I will include pictures of the exhibition as a whole, as I get them!
Re-arranging Formulae
March 20-April 25, 2010
O3 Gallery
Oxford Castle
New Road, Oxford OX1 1AY, United Kingdom
01865 246 131
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