12.06.14
DCA presents Continue Without Losing Consciousness, an exhibition by Rob Churm, Raydale Dower and Tony Swain. The artists are working together as part of GENERATION a major, nation-wide exhibition programme showcasing some of the best and most significant art to have emerged from Scotland over the last 25 years.
Continue Without Losing Consciousness references the celebrated project Le Drapeau Noir, created by these three artists in collaboration for the 2010 Glasgow International Festival.
Le Drapeau Noir, the original project was situated within a disused space, now Glasgow’s Old Hairdressers venue, a temporary artist café and programme of events quoting twentieth century avant-garde counter-culture, anarchic history and underground music, within an art installation by the three artists and their friends.
For Continue Without Losing Consciousness the artists’ original concept has been extended within three new projects for DCA Galleries and a programme of supporting events.
As Tony Swain explains: “The key difference this time around is that we have structured two months of activity around a number of fully programmed one-night events. This means that, instead of just seeing one performance at a time, like at Le Drapeau Noir in Glasgow, people can plan to visit DCA on a specific date and enjoy a concentrated line-up of live acts all at once.”
Situated around a core installation, the exhibition will play host to events, concerts and a series of impromptu ‘happenings’ that reflect the long-term friends’ shared enthusiasm for alternative art and music.
Visitors can expect everything from live gigs and art talks, impromptu ‘art happenings’ to author readings, zine launches and cinema screenings set within an evolving programme of events.
Expect cult and emerging bands and musicians such as The Rebel and Ela Orleans alongside special guests such as the satire writer Steve Aylett, and artists Craig Mulholland and Torsten Lauschmann.
Churm, Dower and Swain are also all acclaimed musicians with a shared love of experimental music and reflecting the wider lives of the artists there will also be ‘sonic contributions’ from each of their bands during the run.
For Tony Swain, the most important thing is that their dynamic programme should be stimulating, while remaining enjoyable and unintimidating.
“It is an ambitious programme but one that takes its unity from the fact that we all share common interests as artists and also as musicians. This is an event that represents some of our interests and obsessions, there’s some avant grade moments in there but everything is presented in an unpretentious, accessible way. The important thing for us is that anyone who comes will see something provocative and entertaining.”
Graham Domke, DCA Exhibitions Curator said “Rob Churm, Raydale Dower and Tony Swain are each important Scottish artists in their own right. But by collectively reuniting them for this project, we want to share with our audience the creative parallels that run through their work and across 20th and 21st century visual arts, performance, music, independent cinema, poetry and literature. The exhibition, events and screenings are a great fit for a combined arts centre like DCA where we often try to draw connections between artforms and its exciting to be able to highlight this work as part of a national celebration such as GENERATION.”
Continue Without Losing Consciousness
Rob Churm, Raydale Dower, Tony Swain
Sat 28 June – Sun 24 August
Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY
Open daily 11.00-18.00
Open late Thu 20.00
Admission Free