Artist statement
Artists statement
I am interested in revealing images which are very strong; that offer a glimpse of past worlds and indistinct realities; where the boundaries between fiction and documentary blur, and memories take on a life of their own.
My work in video, photography and moving-image installation investigates the nuances of moments in the grand narrative. For me, history is not so much about facts as about perceptions of the world around us, and a sense that we belong to something that has existed before we did. My objective is to create a strong impression, to reintegrate the lost, fragmented and forgotten.
About me
I am a UK based Canadian artist. I studied history and philosophy, before moving to Europe and training in Film/Video in London.
A photographer and documentary film maker, I began to work with experimental film making and video and installation art with the Luna Nera group. The group has made many site-specific live art projects, including 'The Derelict Sensation' at the St Pancras Chambers, London (2003), 'Titanic HQ' in a Belfast shipyard (2005) and 'ColdStore' in a 19thC underground storage unit (Berlin 2007).
FILM & VIDEO
I make "essay films," from the immediate "Field Recordings" shorts, to the meditative "Tarkovsky's River," which traces a series of journeys to and around Andrei Tarkovsky's birthplace in Russia. See http://www.tarkovskysriver.com for the film and photography project.
Videoart can be seen here on Videoart.net for some older works.
Recent work is on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/gillianmciver
PHOTOGRAPHY
My still photographic work primarily documents places in flux ('Memory Walk, Poble Nou', 2004- 2007), forgotten places ('Kronstadt', 2003 – 4), disappeared places ('Swanns Way Away', Newcastle 2006), post-industrial landscape ('Berlin Oberschoneweide', 2002 – 2012), and places loaded with cultural or art historical meaning ('Tarkovsky's River', 2009).
BOOKS
I have published several limited-edition photo-based artist books, and my book of critical writing, “Twixt”, was published in 2012 by Nant Studios.
EXHIBITING
My work has been exhibited in the UK, Canada, Egypt, Russia, India, Latin America and all around Europe.
*NB I don't pay to exhibit or to apply to show my work. Please do not send me any "offers" to exhibit that require me to pay a fee. Thank you.
Qualifications and training
- 2003 MA by Project: "Site/Response" Collection of short films, and texts, Sir John Cass School of Art, London (more info)
- 1997 BA Film / Contemporary Media Practice, University of Westminster, London
Solo exhibitions
- 2005 PLACES: 5 films, The Collection, Lincoln (more info)
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Digital Landscape, Espacio Enter, Tenerife, Canarias
- 2012 CeC'12 India - Parallel Visions | Global Art Video, Sattal, Uttarakhand, India
- 2011 "Keeping Afloat" Studio 75 at La Clinica Mundana, Gallery La Clinica Mundana, Valencia
- 2011 River(s), studio 75, London
- 2011 PROSPERO'S LIBRARY LONDON, STUDIO 75, LONDON E2
- 2010 CREATURES, 10 Gales Gallery, Bethnal Green, London E2
- 2010 DALSTON UNDERGROUND 10 YEARS, Dalston Underground, Boleyn Road, London
- 2010 « PI five », Performance & Intermedia Festival, Szczecin, Poland
- 2009 The Irresistible District, Suvilahti, Helsinki
- 2009 Photocinema: Forum Festival of Photography 2009, Quad, Derby
- 2008 "Foreword" Contemporary Photography, Gallery at Menier Chocolate Factory, London
- 2008 Digital Media 1.0, La Nau, Valencia, Spain
- 2008 Postindustrial Baroque, Globe Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
- 2007 In Situ 07, La Farinera del Clot, Barcelona
- 2006 Kunstwinter: Winter Werkschau, Factory Berlin, Berlin
- 2005 l'Eta Nomade, Accademia dell'arte, Mattatoio di Testaccio, Rome
- 2005 Urban Clearance, PS2 Project Space and site-specific, Belfast (more info)
Curated projects
- 2010 Creative capitals | London Berlin Helsinki | Moving Images, Hanbury Hall, London (more info)
- 2010 DOKUMENTART 19, curated by Antoni Karwowski, Kino Obserwatorium, Szczecin
- 2008 "The B Sides", curated by Michelle Kasprzak, CCA Glasgow, Touring internationally
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2006 Arts Council of England Grants for the Arts, AiR Space, Stoke on Trent
- 2004 Critics and Curators Award, Canada Council for the Arts, touring (more info)
Other
- 2012 Film Screening: "Tarkovsky's River", Whitechapel Gallery, London
- 2011 Intervalos Lúcidos - Film Screening, ESPACIO ENTER CANARIAS 2011, Tenerife
- 2011 ARTSIDE - film screening "The Landscape of Pleasure", Coexist, Southend on Sea
- 2011 Unfolding Sequences | Film Screening, Studio XX, Montréal, Canada
- 2011 Revolution Now and Forever, Gallery Mavena, Zadar, Croatia
- 2011 HOST 02, Art Funkl, Manchester
- 2011 CeC'11 India Global Art Video, Sattal Estate Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India
- 2010 CeC'10 India Global Art Video, The Sattal Estate Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India
- 2009 Optica 2009, Optica, touring exhibition of video based work. La Paz, Buenos Aires, Paris, Cordoba. Huarte, Gijon-Asturias.
Personal website
