It is Probably Best to Start from Zero is a long-term curatorial and artistic project taking place in the Window Space at The Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design.
After marking its mid-point with the #0.2 workshop, The Cass's long-term curatorial and artistic project It is Probably Better to Start from Zero is presenting a second intervention by each of the four artists exhibited previously over the next four months, with Juan Crespo becoming the next artist to exhibit.
The project, which takes place in Central House's temporary gallery, the Window Space, intends to highlight the unfixed position of both artistic and curatorial practices, and to assume them as research-based activities, potential nexus for discussion, critique and production.
Through working with artists whose body of work functions as an ongoing process, the project aims to stress the growth, complexity and diversification of collaborative practices. The unpredictable state of flux inherent in artistic practice will shape the curatorial activity as a constant state of becoming, as stated by the artist and curator Paul O’Neill. Inspired by the particular properties of the Window Space, the project will also look at the window as a frame of process, exploring the constraints and possibilities of displaying a body of work within these spatial and conceptual boundaries.
By returning to the Window Space, the artists present the progress of their ongoing research and practice, taking into account the effects of their relation with the curators, the other artists and the space itself. For the second manifestation of Diaspora of the Line, a poliedric archive accessible online, Juan focuses on architecture as a colonial tool to neutralise local imaginary in Africa. The presentation is concerned with how the historical fact is represented and transmitted, rather than the history itself. Construction materials or building ornaments are some of the elements used to rethink the decolonial process of British Institutions and Museums. Humor and anecdote introduce a disruptive grammar used to analyse the content provided by official video databases, such as Imperial War Museum or British Film Institute.
The artist
Juan Crespo (born 1987, Zaragoza) lives and works in London. He graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, where he also studied the MA in Artistic Production and Research. He has recently shown works in Barcelona (Sala d’Art Jove, ARSM and Loop Video Art Festival), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santander, Biennal Leandre Cristófol La Panera, Lleida and Festival Cine-Septiembre, Sinaloa, México. He is Co-Founder of PIL Project, presented at London Metropolitan University, and now part of the Digital Artist Residency within art biennial The Wrong. PIL Project has recently been granted Step Beyond funding to develop a research project in Russia's new internet content law.
The curators
Matilde Biagi (born 1990, Florence) is a London-based curator. She graduated with a BA in Contemporary Arts studies at Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna and is currently a second year student studying the Curating the Contemporary MA at the Whitechapel Gallery and The Cass. She works as a gallery assistant at Transition Gallery and writes short reviews and articles for Garageland Magazine and CUCO – Cultura Commestibile. In 2015 she co-curated the PROTECHT exhibition at Bank Space Gallery, bringing together national and international artists, and exploring the relationship with the screen and the impact it has on our everyday life. In October 2015 she worked in the Exhibitors Department at Frieze Masters and as part of CommaCollective, a curating collective based in London with a focus on contemporary art and an ambition to work with emerging artists, she collaborated with FloatArt London in the curation and production of FloatArt2015 exhibition at Bargehouse.
Inês Costa (born 1991, Almada) is a curator and photographer based in London. In 2012 she graduated with a BA in Multimedia Arts – Photography from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon and is currently enrolled on the Curating the Contemporary MA at the Whitechapel Gallery and The Cass. She has done freelance photography work for names such as Fact Magazine PT, Ponto Alternativo, Big Issue Foundation and Tangram Theatre Company, and is currently working as a gallery assistant at GX Gallery in London. In 2015 she co-curated the PROTECHT exhibition at Bank Space Gallery, FloatArt2015 at the Bargehouse and co-founded CommaCollective.
Antonio Terzini (born 1985, Naples) is a London-based independent curator and art historian. He graduated in modern literature and specialised in art history. In 2012, he completed an MA in Conservation of Contemporary Art at Plart Museum in Naples and he is currently enrolled on the Curating the Contemporary MA at the Whitechapel Gallery and The Cass. He collaborated with the curatorial staff of the Plart Museum and with art institutions in the UK, such as Spike Island, Bristol Museum and Cell Project Space. He is co-founder of CommaCollective and is currently involved in curatorial projects between Italy and the UK. He recently co-curated the PROTECHT exhibition at Bank Space Gallery featuring national and international artists.
