Sun Bleached Stills from a Number of Films News from the School of Art, Architecture and Design

Solo show by John Henry Newton curated by students of MA Curating the Contemporary

Date: 07/05/15

The Cass is delighted to announce Sun Bleached Stills from a Number of Films, a solo exhibition by John Henry Newton curated by students on the MA Curating the Contemporary course delivered in collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery.

As proposed by its name, the space was formerly a bank, the glass windows that were used to transact and communicate are still intact – albeit blocked by wooden panelling, shrouded in the shadows of UV film, scaffolding and fellow concrete. The building shows its scars well, with specific past times locatable through its architectural features. Similar to the city, it is a scattering accumulation of clues – as if the building could be read as a detective novel. Perhaps the murder a graffito scraped into a toilet door or a note dropped at the haste of an exit.

It is clear that the space is frequently used for the purpose of display, in an ever-changing arrangement of walls and plinths. Objects come and go as easily as an individual dreams: each object an investment in time, an anchor temporarily placed out of context. In Sun Bleached Stills from a Number of Films, Newton’s work acts as a mirror, attempting to create a display that is not just in the space but of the space. Newton turns the gallery into a ‘black box recorder’, aiming to salvage its own history - via stories from the artist’s personal connection to it - masking the space in a story telling voice. This connection stems from his background as a student at the University, located in the adjacent building.

John Henry Newton (Swindon, UK 1988) lives and works in London. His work has been exhibited internationally, including shows at FRUTTA, Rome and MOSTYN, Wales. This year Newton will also participate in Nouveau Festival at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. John Henry Newton is a graduate of BA (Hons) Fine Art at The Cass.  

Sun Bleached Stills from a Number of Films runs alongside a series of public events, including a symposium featuring talks by photographer and curator Minnie Weisz and architect Benedict O’Looney. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring an essay by MOSTYN Visual Arts Programme Curator Adam Carr. 

Curated by: 
Iveta Filipov | Leana Lovell Gardner | Silvia Meloni | Kornelia Pawlukowska | Thomas Stokmans