Installation THE MARKET Le Bleu du Ciel, Lyon
October 19, 2017 § 3 Comments
Credit Suisse (Access denied)
Canary Wharf
London England
March 2013 (left)
Anthony, Analyst (negotiation 1.5 years)
The City
London, England
May 2013 (right)
‘In the evolutionary aftermath of the global economic collapse and absence of sustained audio-visual engagement with the central locus of this catastrophic event, the ongoing multi-media transnational project, THE MARKET (2010-), critically addresses the functioning and condition of the global markets and the role of financial capital. It is the continuation of a cycle of long-term projects, beginning in the late 1990s, focused on the predatory context resulting from migrations of global capital.
Bethlehem, Trader (negotiation 1.5 years)
Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
September 2012
The Viewing Gallery
Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
September, 2012
(Single channel HD digital video, silent, looped 9’’)
James, Operations Manager (negotiation 1 year)
Irish Stock Exchange (ISE)
Dublin, Ireland
April 2012
Transcripts (Dublin, London, Addis Abeba)
‘Having undertaken an extensive process of negotiation, averaging 1.5-2 years, to access strategic sites/individuals, the ethnographically-informed project incorporates photographs, film, soundscape, artifactual material, 3D data visualisation & transcripts of verbal testimony. Taking the sphere out of abstraction & positioning it as a pervasive force central to our lives, themes include algorithmic machinery of financial markets, central innovator of this technology, absorption of crises as normalisation of deviance & long range mapping & consequences of financial activity distanced from citizens & everyday life. Profiles include traders, bankers & financial analysts & documentation from London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam & Addis Abeba’
Transcripts (Detail)(Dublin, London, Addis Abeba)
Algorithmic Surrealism 2015
Landscaped Park (International Investment Bank)
Zuidas Global Financial District
Amsterdam, Netherlands
(Single channel HD digital video, colour, sound/voiceover 11’04’’)
The installation includes the film, Algorithmic Surrealism (follow link for excerpt) made in the new financial district of Zuidas (Amsterdam), global centre for algorithmic trading & shadow banking, while the voiceover of the film is adapted from a text by former trader, Brett Scott. Forecasted that there will be no human traders within a decade, the film suggests the hegemony of High Frequency Trading (HFT) and extinction of human reason – including empathy and ethics – will perpetuate the power relations of minority wealth in globalised capitalist systems.
Financial Surrealism/Systemic Risk
Colour A4 image and text – Shadowbanking
Artifacts & Correspondence regarding process to secure access to Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt/Eschborn 2012 including Letter requesting access to Deutsche Börse AG
from the Irish Ambassador to Germany, Berlin, Germany, November 2011
(accessd denied)
Framed emails/ Vitrine
Artifacts & Correspondence regarding process to secure access to Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt/Eschborn 2012 (accessd denied)
Artifacts & Correspondence regarding process to secure access to Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt/Eschborn 2012 (accessd denied)
(detail)
Deutsche Börse II (Acess denied)
Eschborn (near Frankfurt)
Germany
March 2012
The Television Studio
Selected Reports from German Television (2012 – 2013) from Frankfurt Börse (Stock Exchange)
(described in the vernacular by Deutsche Börse AG (owners) as ‘The Television Studio’)
Frankfurt, Germany
Digital Video, Silent, Looped (28 minutes)
Taika, External Relations Associate (negotiation 1.5 years)
Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
September 2012
Matthew, Banker (negotiation 2 years)
Canary Wharf
London, England
March 2013
Poster/Text
JP Morgan (formerly Lehman Brothers)(Access denied)
Canary Wharf
London, England
February 2013
‘Titled the Normalisation of Deviance, through the application of an algorithm identifying the words market and/or markets in public speeches by relevant national Ministers of Finance, the data is then transformed to create the installation soundscape. For Le Bleu du Ciel, the algorithmic translation of the former minister, Pierre Moscovici is presented. To date, those of Michael Noonan (Ireland), George Osborne (UK) and Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Netherlands & Eurozone Group President) have also been included in exhibitions in those countries – to represent contemporary financial capital functioning through the conduit of the now financialised nation state”
Financial District, Lyon
(Window, main gallery space)
The installation is part of the year-long programme, Suite-Nouveau Documentaire by Gilles Verneret, Director, Le Bleu du Ciel and part of official programme Resonance de la Biennale de Lyon 2017. Participation has been generously supported by Culture Ireland.
Exhibition from September 28 – November 25, 2017.
The project has been curated by Helen Carey (Director, Firestation Artists’ Studios) and supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, NEPN (University of Sunderland, UK), Noorderlicht (Netherlands), Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), Gallery of Photography, Belfast Exposed & Culture Ireland.
Algorithm & Sound Composition Ken Curran
Full information here.
THE MARKET/ Le Bleu du Ciel / Lyon
September 27, 2017 § 1 Comment
THE MARKET – Installation
Le Bleu du Ciel
12, rue des fantasques, 69001 Lyon
FRANCE
September 28 – November 25
Official programme of Resonance de la Biennale de Lyon 2017.
‘In the evolutionary aftermath of the global economic collapse and absence of sustained audio-visual engagement with the central locus of this catastrophic event, the ongoing multi-media transnational project, THE MARKET (2010-), critically addresses the functioning and condition of the global markets and the role of financial capital. It is the continuation of a cycle of long-term projects, beginning in the late 1990s, focused on the predatory context resulting from migrations of global capital. Having undertaken an extensive process of negotiation, averaging 1.5-2 years, to access strategic sites/individuals, the ethnographically-informed project incorporates photographs, film, soundscape, artifactual material, 3D data visualisation & transcripts of verbal testimony. Taking the sphere out of abstraction & positioning it as a pervasive force central to our lives, themes include algorithmic machinery of financial markets, central innovator of this technology, absorption of crises as normalisation of deviance & long range mapping & consequences of financial activity distanced from citizens & everyday life. Profiles include traders, bankers & financial analysts & documentation from London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam & Addis Abeba’
The installation is part of the year-long programme, Suite-Nouveau Documentaire by Gilles Verneret, Director, Le Bleu du Ciel.
Full information/Dossier de Presse available here.
Participation has been generously supported by Culture Ireland
THE MARKET is curated by Helen Carey and has been supported by Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, NEPN (University of Sunderland, UK), Noorderlicht (Netherlands), Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), Gallery of Photography (Dublin), Belfast Exposed, Limerick City Gallery of Art & Centre Culturel Irlandais (Paris).
MUSEUM OF CAPITALISM (USA)
June 16, 2017 § Leave a comment
‘A Museum of Capitalism* is opening this June in Oakland, California. The museum will be the first of its kind in the United States remembering the historic era of capitalism, dedicated to “educating future generations about the ideology, history, and legacy of capitalism”. Through multimedia exhibits created by a diverse network of artists, scholars, and ordinary citizens, the museum’s opening exhibition will explore the historical phenomenon of capitalism and its intersections with themes including race, class, and the environment. Representing the collaborative efforts of a multidisciplinary team of curators, historians, artists, and designers, the museum’s inaugural exhibition will feature several multimedia exhibits and experiences created by some of today’s most dynamic artists.
Opening on Saturday, June 17th at 6pm. More information on events and ongoing programming here. The exhibition continues until August 20th, 2017.
The Museum of Capitalism is curated by Andrea Steves & Timothy Furstnau (FICTILIS) and includes work by Alexander Rose, Art for a Democratic Society, Ben Bigelow, Bureau d’Etudes, Chip Lord, Dread Scott, Igor Vamos, Jennifer Dalton, Jenny Odell, Jordan Bennett, Kambui Olujimi, Kate Haug, Marisa Jahn, Mark Curran, Michelle de la Vega, Oliver Ressler, Patricia Reed, Rimini Protokoll, Sharon Daniel, Superflex, Tim Portlock and Valeria Mogilevich amongst others.
The exhibition will also include a library where visitors can browse several collections and learn more about the exhibits, as well as a recreation of an early-21st Century museum gift shop. Artifacts of capitalism, donated and loaned from citizens across the country, will be on display alongside the exhibits.
The accompanying publication by Inventory Press will include work by all the artists and written contributions by Lucy Lippard, TJ Demos and Chantal Mouffe amongst others. Full details here.
*Exhibition includes (extracts from) THE MARKET comprising photographs, transcripts, sculpture. Participation by Mark Curran has been generously supported by Culture Ireland
Art In The Age of Financial Crisis (New York)
February 15, 2017 § Leave a comment
Part of the College Arts Association 105th Annual Conference being held in New York, the panel, convened by Marisa Lerer (Manhattan College) & Conor McGarrigle (DIT) includes Amy Whitaker, Elena Shtromberg, Derek Curry/Jennifer Gradecki & Mark Curran
The recent release of the Panama Papers revelation is just one in many that highlight the link between art and ethically (if not legally) corrupt financial markets. The relationship between financial speculators and emerging artists is another example of the complicated and compromised control that finance holds on the art market. In addition, historically and recently artist activists have been calling attention to and transforming the relationship of corporate patronage within art institutions. This session aims to explore patronage, collaboration, and alternative systems in art and finance. This panel seeks papers that examine specific aspects of the financial crisis and projects that critique existing models and present alternatives such as crypto-currency models to financial infrastructures and calls for divestment. Can there be a system of ethics surrounding art’s role within the exchanges of capital? How have artists working in public art in the expanded field translated, shifted and reframed financial structures? What is the arts and art institutions’ role in visualizing the complex networks of successive financial crises and presenting alternatives that may rebuild systems of trusts between the public and global financial markets? Case studies are welcome as are proposals for future projects.This session encourages participation from artists, art historians, curators, and theorists.
Full information available here on the CAA website. Participation has been generously supported by IADT.
PUBLIC TALK (UK) – NEPN
November 14, 2016 § Leave a comment
NEPN is pleased to welcome Mark Curran to Newcastle to speak about his photographic practice on Wednesday 16 November at 6.30pm at the Mining Institute, Neville Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE.
The talk will start at 6.30pm prompt in the Lecture Theatre and will be followed by drinks and informal conversation in the Library until 8.30pm.
The talk is free however booking is requested HERE.
Mark Curran is an artist researcher and educator who lives and works in Berlin and Dublin. He holds a practice-led PhD from the Dublin Institute of Technology, is Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Photography programme, Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), Dublin and Visiting Professor on the MA in Visual & Media Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin.
Incorporating multi-media installation informed by ethnographic understandings, since the late 1990s, Curran has undertaken a cycle of long-term research projects, critically addressing the predatory context resulting from the migrations and flows of global capital. These have been extensively published and exhibited, including DePaul Art Museum, Chicago (2010), Encontros da Imagem, Braga (2011), PhotoIreland, Dublin (2012), Grimmuseum, Berlin (2013) & FORMAT, Derby (2013). He has also presented widely including The Photographers’ Gallery, London (2012), Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) (2013), Abbey Theatre, Dublin (2014), McGill University, Montreal (2014), Royal Anthropological Institute, London (2015), University of Ljubljana (2015), University of Bern (2015), Glucksman Gallery of Art (2016) & Boston University (2016).
Mark Curran’s The Economy of Appearances was commissioned by Noorderlicht Photofestival 2015 and NEPN. Sited in the new financial district of Zuidas on the outskirts of Amsterdam, the work focuses on the Netherlands role in global structures of High Frequency Trading (HFT) and Shadow Banking. It is an elaboration of his long-term transnational research project, THE MARKET, focusing on the functioning and condition of the global markets.Taking the sphere out of abstraction and positioning it as a pervasive force central to our lives, themes include algorithmic machinery of financial markets, as central innovator of this technology, absorption of crises as normalisation of deviance, and long-range mapping and consequences of financial activity distanced from citizens and everyday life.
Supported by Arts Council of Ireland & curated by Helen Carey, THE MARKET has been presented at Gallery of Photography, Dublin (2013), Belfast Exposed Gallery (2013), Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (2014) and Noorderlicht, Groningen (2015). An extensive exhibition, titled The Economy of Appearances was presented at Limerick City Gallery of Art (LCGA), Ireland in Autumn 2015 and nominated by Christiane Monarchi, Photomonitor (UK) for the Deutsche Börse Photography Award 2016. Extracts from the project feature in a group exhibition on mapping global networks of capital titled, I Stood Before The Source currently installed at the Blackwood Gallery, Toronto, Canada. Future installations are confirmed for the UK & France in 2016/17 and a full publication of THE MARKET is also planned.
Links:
Video Profile: https://vimeo.com/user6725215
Recent interview with Lewis Bush on Disphotic (UK): http://www.disphotic.com/market-interview-mark-curran/
Please note that disabled access to the Lecture Theatre is gained at the rear of the building and it is best to telephone the Mining Institute ahead on (0191) 232 2201.
Image: Financial Surrrealism (World Trade Center II) , Hoarding, Zuidas Financial District, Amsterdam, Netherlands, From THE MARKET (2010-)
NEPN was established in 2009 to promote and develop photography in the North East of England and beyond. Working with photographers, artists, curators and a wide range of cultural partners, we aim to create a lively and informed context for photographic activity and to encourage new audiences for photography. NEPN is hosted by and is an initiative of the Northern Centre of Photography at the University of Sunderland.
its Since our launch NEPN has established a wider national and international profile for its programme and continues to act as an influential agency for photographers and lens-based artists.
To join NEPN’s mailing list to receive information about events and opportunities please sign up HERE
NEPN is funded by the University of Sunderland. Current commissioning and professional development programme is supported by Arts Council England through Grants for the arts.
NEPN is a member of the North East Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN).
THE SOCIAL – IAVC2016@Boston
September 26, 2016 § Leave a comment
THE SOCIAL is the title of the 4th International Association for Visual Culture Biennial Conference (IAVC2016@Boston) to be held at Boston University September 28, 29, 30 and October 1, 2016.
The conference IAVC2016@Boston will present papers and artworks on post-democracy, post-society, future visions, crisis, social media, post-capitalism, post-data, social evolution, revolution, actionism, post-state, interventionism, post-colonialism, economic vampirism, globalized thievery, art activism and social exploitation.
Keynote speakers include, Professor Vincent Brown (Harvard University), Professor Nicholas Mirzoeff (New York University), Professor Vera Ingrid Grant (Harvard University), Professor Lanfranco Aceti (Boston University) & Professor Mieke Bal, University of Amsterdam.
Along with Violeta Vojvodic Balaz, Daniel Feinberg, Rob Aitken, as part of the panel titled, Post-society and Financial Exsanguination, Mark Curran will present on the formulation of his research project, THE MARKET.
The conference is free for speakers and attendees. If you wish to join us please register here. The program of THE SOCIAL can be accessed here.
Participation has been supported by the Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT).
CAMERA AS CULTURAL CRITIQUE
May 24, 2016 § Leave a comment
In this conference we investigate the potential of visual media to convey and respond to existing as well as emerging social realities. We aim to contribute to an interdisciplinary field of research and practice that includes anthropology, philosophy and visual art. The visual media we wish to discuss range from photography and film to digital media, audio-visual installations and exhibitions.
CAMERA AS CULTURAL CRITQUE – Juxtaposition, Intervention and Co-Creation
International Conference
Aarhus University & Moesgaard Museum (Denmark)
25-27 May 2016
Speakers include Trinh T. Minh-ha, Andrew Irving, Christian Suhr, Jennifer Deger, Catherine Russell, Jane Jin Kaisen, Mark Curran, Ton Otto, Karen Waltorp and Peter Crawford
Full details available here.
The conference is organised by the research group Camera as Cultural Critique based at the Eye & Mind Laboratory for Visual Anthropology at Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum. This four-year research initiative (2013-2016) investigates the potential of using visual technologies and methodologies in social science research in practice. We collaborate with a variety of international researchers and practitioners, with the aim of establishing visual anthropology as a distinct form of critique within anthropology and the social sciences in general.
ARTIST TALK (Berlin)
May 4, 2016 § Leave a comment
Mark Curran / THE MARKET
As part of a series of events organised by Peggy Sue Amison (Curator & Artistic Director, East Wing), Irish Artist, Mark Curran will giving a talk on his research project on the functioning and condition of the global markets, THE MARKET, next Monday, May 9th at tête (artist-run project space). All begins at 7.30.
Irish Artist, Mark Curran will talk about his current ongoing transnational project, THE MARKET, which continues a cycle to date, and focuses on the functioning and condition of the global markets. It has been supported by Arts Council of Ireland & curated by Helen Carey. Future installations are confirmed for the UK & France in 2016/17 and a full publication is also planned.
Full details available here (tête) & here (Photography in Berlin).
The Economy of Appearances – Installation (Film)
March 25, 2016 § Leave a comment
‘In Mark Curran’s practice, projects unfold over time. (Since the late nineties) Curran has undertaken a cycle of long-term, ethnographically-informed multimedia research projects addressing the predatory context resulting from migrations and flows of global capital…in this major exhibition, The Economy of Appearances, Curran draws these projects together for the first time, expanding the enquiry with newly commissioned work completed in Amsterdam. Incorporating photographs, film, sound, artifactual material and testimony, themes include algorithmic machinery of financial markets, as innovator of this technology, absorption of crises as normalisation of deviance, and long range mapping and consequences of financial activity distanced from citizens and everyday life’ Helen Carey
from Installation at Limerick City Gallery of Art (Autumn 2015)
Filming Isabella Walsh
Editing Isabella Walsh & Mark Curran
Thanks to Arts Council Ireland, Noorderlicht Photography, NEPN (University of Sunderland), Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), Belfast Exposed Photography Gallery, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Gallery of Photography & Culture Ireland
Full information here (e-flux).
Installation images here.
PERSPECTIVES: Lewis Glucksman Gallery (Talk)
February 24, 2016 § 2 Comments
How does the marketplace affect our everyday lives? What happens as goods proceed from the factory floor to the trading floor and what role does the economy play in contemporary society? This series of Perspectives asks invited experts to address current economic questions both within Ireland and internationally.
On invitation of Chris Clarke, senior curator at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery in Cork (Ireland), Mark Curran will be speaking on Wednesday, February 24th about the project, THE MARKET.
It is in the context of the current show Chris has curated in collaboration with Declan Jordan, lecturer in economics at University College Cork (UCC), titled EVERYTHING MUST GO. The group exhibition addresses the role of art and the market.
Full details here.
THE MARKET 