Sound in Motion
Harnessing sound and space in works of minimalist power, the Swiss artist Zimoun explores the rhythm, flow and interaction between architectural spaces, commonplace objects and mechanical systems. In this major new work, specially created for the University of Brighton Gallery, Zimoun responds to the bright, sparce interior with his characteristic articulation of the tension between the orderly patterns of Modernism and the chaotic forces of life.
Zimoun combines the low-tech – plastic bags, cardboard boxes, old furniture – with mechanical components such as ventilators, speakers and microphones. His installations are all about making us re-evaluate the relationship between the visual, sonic and physical elements of a space.
Ending Sun 25 May at University of Brighton Gallery
The British Library
As the lead artist for this year’s HOUSE, Yinka Shonibare MBE’s new sculptural installation explores the impact of immigration on all aspects of British culture and considers notions of territory and place, cultural identity, displacement and refuge.
The shelves of the Old Reference Library are filled with books colourfully bound in Shonibare’s trademark wax cloth (itself a cross-cultural hybrid of Indonesian design and Dutch manufacture). On the spines are the names of people, both celebrated and unfamiliar, who, as immigrants, made unique contributions to our way of life; people like TS Eliot, Henry James, Hans Holbein, Kazuo Ishiguro, Zaha Hadid and many more.
Yinka Shonibare MBE’s work aims to make visible the cultural influences of colonisation and explore the rich complexity of post-colonial cultures; the ornate interior of the Old Reference Library, with its Raj-inspired architecture, is therefore the perfect setting for an installation that asks us to evaluate our attitudes to immigration and immigrants.
Ending Sun 25 May at The Old Reference Library, Brighton Museum
Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time No. 2
William Forsythe’s choreographic object populates the old municipal market space with hundreds of delicate pendulums, swinging in timed sequences. As you move around without touching the pendulums, your strides and side-steps will produce a lively choreography of manifold and intricate avoidance strategies.
Forsythe’s blend of choreography and artwork, in which you become the dancer, contrasts reactive spontaneity and pre-programmed precision. This is the latest reinvention of a piece that evolves in reaction to the space it occupies: a tribute to a great Brighton landmark destined to become a new Dance Space for the city.
William Forsythe is hailed as one of the world’s most innovative choreographers, credited with moving the focus of dance from the classical tradition to a dynamic, 21st century artform. In recent years he has been exploring the notion of movement in its widest context, with a series of acclaimed installations, artworks and films.
The Forsythe Company is supported by the city of Dresden and the state of Saxony as well as the city of Frankfurt am Main and the state of Hesse. The Forsythe Company is Company-in-Residence of both Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden and the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main. With special thanks to the ALTANA Kulturstiftung for supporting The Forsythe Company.
Ending Sun 25 May at Circus Street Market
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