Amy Feneck

(selected by Claire Doherty)

Since graduating in 2002 Amy Feneck has worked with super 8 film and video to create spell-binding observational sketches. The films manifest the complexities of the medium in their play on documentary and fiction, on what is apparently real or choreographed. Drawn to places of communal activity such as the local ice rink or the swimming pool, Feneck quietly explores the architecture of public and private space, fusing the minutia of hidden dramas with cinematic form.

The camera pans around these spaces as if seeing things for the first time. Often unsuspecting members of the public develop leading roles whilst the camera acts as a net, capturing glimpses of potential narratives that could continually unfold. Feneck's films evoke the anticipation of a story, an anecdote or an identification with a character on screen, acknowledging the influence of cinema rather than trying to recreate it. They reveal how the viewer willingly attributes narrative to the moving image and question this need for virtual escape.

Alongside her filmmaking, Feneck has begun to develop a collaborative side to her practice, working with other artists on projects that create discussion around the political and social aspects of art making. Feneck was the co-founder and editor of the journal Attitudes of Exchange (May 2005), a physical response to a year-long research project with Spike Island, Bristol, an internationally recognised centre for research. The project resulted in the development of a writing fellowship at Spike Island, and further issues are currently in production. She also co-curated Challenging Relationships: Artists and Institutions, an event held at Spike Island, October 2004.

Since completing her BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Bath Spa University College in 2002, Feneck (b.1980), has screened films in cinemas and theatres across Bristol and the South West region including The Cube Microplex and Tobacco Factory Theatre. Her film, 'There is Something' was selected for a group show Silent Movies (2003) curated by new media commissioning agency Media Art Bath.

During 2005 Feneck has completed two three-month residencies: Spike Island, Bristol and LOT, a new artist-led space in Bristol. Both residencies culminated in the production and exhibition of new film-works, 'Ice-rink' and 'Three films - lido, treehouse, gymnasium' (2005). Her most recent projects include an intensive ten-day PlayLab residency at PVA MediaLab, Bridport. Feneck used this residency to develop her new film-work Jonnys Dead, screened at PVA MediaLab and the Watershed Media Centre, Bristol.

She is currently engaged in a collaborative project working with Press to Exit Space in Skopje, Macedonia. Working alongside a writer and curator Laura Mansfield, Amy is developing new work in response to an initial research period in Skopje. For more info: www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=13769. She lives and works in Bristol.

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