Slow Drift(s) CHPT2
Larry Achiampong & David Blandy
NOV.29. - FEB.15.2025
WITH WORKS BY Larry Achiampong & David Blandy.
OPENING
Friday NOV.29, 19:00 - 23:00
During HOOGTIJ#79
ON VIEW
NOV.29.—FEB.15.2025
Fri-Sat: 13:00-18:00
Mon-Thu by appointment
Larry Achiampong (1984, GH/UK) and David Blandy (1976/UK) have developed a video-based collaborative practice exploring the politics of race, class and the post-colonial condition. The second chapter of Slow Drift(s) presents a selection from their Finding Fanon Series, a body of work departing from the writings of Martinican philosopher Frantz Fanon (1925-1961). In addition to traditional filmmaking, the artists resort to more unconventional techniques for video-making such as recording characters inside popular free-roaming open world video games. The latter has allowed them to incorporate the participation of different communities -such as veterans and migrants- but also to harness the constructedness of virtual space as a metaphor for societal barriers. Traversing Fanon’s musings with personal experiences, the series demonstrates the contemporary relevance of 20th-century concerns with colonial attitudes and sketches their implications in the context of the information age.
Slow Drift(s) is a film and video exhibition program that brings together the work of established and emerging filmmakers, exploring the fluid nature of expanded cinema. We begin by inviting an artist with a relevant filmography to exhibit. Then, local and regional collectives are invited to curate their own screenings in response, which complement and challenge our selection. This approach broadens the medium’s associative possibilities in content and aesthetics, while connecting artists at various career stages.
The second Chapter explores the collaborative practice of British artists Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, with a public program in collaboration with First Cut, a platform for screenings and conversations around independent, radical, experimental films by emerging artists based in The Hague.
ABOUT
Since March 2018 The Balcony curates exhibitions supporting the presentation of upcoming practices with a focus on alternative formats of display, keen on collaborations and cross-generational presentations. The initiative was previously hosted in the vitrine of a violin store, originally known as The Balcony (2018 – 2020), as well as the basement of a former office space, previously known as Susan Bites (2019 – 2021).
In 2021 the initiative relocated to a permanent location in the city centre at Nieuwe Molstraat 14-A2, hosting an exhibition space and artist studios. Starting from September 2023 The Balcony is curated by Arthur Cordier (b.1993. BE), Valentino Russo (b.1994. IT) as well as Abril Cisneros Ramirez (b. 2001. MX), Marica Kolcheva (b.1986. BG) and Ariane Toussaint (b.1996. FR), who recently joined the team to expand the curatorial and public program. The team warmly thanks the artists for making this exhibition possible, Stefan Bandalac (SBAE) for the technical partnership and graphic designers Pavlo Radich and Julia Waraksa from STAATSDUET. Members of the initiative support the programme on a project and often on a voluntary basis, your support is appreciated.
The Balcony
Nieuwe Molstraat 14-A2
The Hague, NL