Output details

Possession (1)

A co-curated exhibition of 20 artists from the UK, Thailand, USA, France, Cambodia, Vietnam and Switzerland, co-funded by Arts Council England and the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre (BACC).

Context:

'Possession (1)' ran at BACC from 14 March-26 May, 2013 (extended from the original end date by 3 weeks) and was co-curated by Dutton and Dr Brian Curtin of Bangkok University. They had previously co-curated Unspeaking Engagements (2009-10) which exhibited the work of 13 international artists at Chulalongkorn Art Center in Bangkok. 'Unspeaking Engagements' led to the recognition – from which 'Possession (1)' emerged – that an understanding of appropriation in art practice was by no means universal.

Dutton’s previous curatorial projects were informed by his interests in ‘occupying’ the rhetorical structures of power (see output 4) and in a critical interest in the teleological aspects and fetishes of contemporary art, both of which are evident in 'Possesion (1)'.

Process and Insight:

The curatorial inquiry of 'Possession (1)' explored a transnational approach to appropriation and specifically explored approaches to appropriation and assimilation, looking at how images may be approached or filtered across boundaries. Artists offer up a form of appropriated subjectivity in an attempt to inhabit the image through practice and thus suggest some form of political/subjective agency. The exhibition suggests that some artists appear to be sourcing material in order to somehow re-consume it and that this might constitute a form of resistance and occupation of the image.

Sharing:

In addition to the exhibition, a 55-page catalogue was published and a public symposium was held at BACC on May 26, 2013. Uniquely, each new manifestation of 'Possession' will appropriate and assimilate the one before. 'Possession (2)' will take place in the UK in March 2014 (LGP, Coventry) in a form of self-appropriation, thus creating a form of curatorial machine.