The Office of Revised Futures

In 1857, Gustave Le Gray used a combination of separate negatives to print his celebrated series of seascapes. He was highly praised for his creativity, but even from then, to think a constructed image can supersede a direct photographic representation of the world has been the thorn in the side of the medium. It is perhaps this premise that sits at the heart of the office.

Responding to Format Festival’s theme of Forever//now, The Office of Revised Futures brings together five artists whose practices develop ideas around constructed photographic images, mainly analogue collage. The idea of the Office is both an exhibition of existing work, but more importantly a residence, where the artists can work together to create a new collaborative piece.

The artists in residence at ‘the office’ are Lewis Bush, Melinda Gibson, Hannah Hughes, Fernando Martin Godoy and Mark Murphy. Their practices cover a wide range of approaches to the constructed image, from appropriation, through to performance and digital animation. For four days, the office was in residence at the Smallprint Co. in Derby, during the opening weekend of Format19.

A zine is evidence of the work done at the residence, working with a series of publications by Cafe Royal Books. This ‘revised’ zine shows the interests of each of the artists, but also poses the idea of constructed photography as a representation a places and objects existing out of time.

www,formatfestival.com/whats-on/the-office-of-revised-futures

The Office of Revised Futures

Exhibition and residence
at The Smallprint Company
for Format19 Forever//Now
March 14th – 16th, 2019

Lewis Bush – @lewis_bush
Melinda Gibson – @melindajgibson
Hannah Hughes – @_h_annah_hughes
Fernando Martin Godoy – @fernandomartingodoy
Mark Murphy – @moif_collage

Curated by Rodrigo Orrantia – @rodrigoorrantia
IG – #officeofrevisedfutures

Image – Fernando Martin Godoy – from Construction Time Again 2018