The Contemporary Eye
In October 2011, members of the University’s Arts Society curated The Contemporary Eye: an exhibition of new painting, film and sculpture by sixteen artists.
The exhibition explored the act of perception. The artworks delved into blurred boundaries between realism and abstraction, investigating notions of diaspora and migration, gender and sexuality, voyeurism and sight as a political act. Certain pieces moved into surreality and dreams, manipulating the distinction between the concrete and the cerebral. At the centre of the exhibition was ‘All that’s solid melts into air (Karl Marx)’ (2006, Tate Collection): a film by Vong Phaophanit with text by Claire Oboussier. Claire graduated from Sussex in 1985. Their piece is filmed in Laos, South East Asia and captures the landscapes, architecture and figures with a poetic gaze.
Curated by Edwin Coomasaru, Dominic Head, Phoebe Darling-Senner and Isabella Smith, with assistance from Daisy O’Sullivan, Susanna Cordner, Sam Taylor, Joe Eyles and Tom Hedger, The Contemporary Eye included work by artists Vong Phaophanit & Claire Oboussier, Dominic Head, Noe Baba, Elisha Enfield, Michelle Gorman, Max Fletcher, Raj Shah, Charlie Tomlinson, William Phong Ly, Justus Cox, Theodora Sutton, Claire Lamy, Rebecca Kunzi, Lianne Chan, Chung Ching Wong.
Contemporary Eye
