Curated by Ross Downes
Private View – Friday 25th April – 18.00 – Late
The phenomena of détournement retains an everyday presence, from underground advertisements of perfume models, their teeth crudely blackened with a sharpie, to the organised propaganda of both protest movements and governmental PR. From anonymous scrawls offering puerile affronts, to the considered contesting of the omnipresent economy of visual culture and the effects it has upon us.
Borne of the Letterist International (and later fully established in the Situationist’s manifesto of 1958), détournement refers to the distortion, misuse, misappropriation, hijacking or subversion of an image or object’s intended purpose. Whether this takes the form of irreverent nonsense or a considered opposition, a destruction or subversion of the image or object is key. Having much in common with satirical parody, détournement uses a direct sarcastic mimicry of the original imagery to turn a mythologised expression against itself.
Using these techniques as a starting point, Detours: After Détournement brings together a group of peers that, intentionally or otherwise, all utilise the détournement ethos or modes of operation within their practice. Without intending to generalise the interests or agenda’s of the participants, Detours features twenty two artists expressing a variety of methods for altering found visual material.
All of the contributions to Detours will be shown on temporary display structures, free standing in the space, that are themselves an attempt to ‘detourne ’ the standard contemporary exhibition space and disrupt the physical flow of the show.
Enclave, 50 Resolution Way, London SE8 4NT
