Tate Liverpool
25 May – 26 August 2002
A stimulating show for Tate Liverpool, Remix will be a visually and aurally dynamic exhibition, creating unexpected, multi-layered connections between visual art, music, film and music videos.
The notion of a remix is one that has been used since the mid 1960s when King Tubby and Lee Perry first started to experiment with Dub music in Kingston, Jamaica. The bringing together and reconfiguring of a wide range of sources is at the heart of the sampling culture in which we now live. This exhibition aims to tap into the same eclectic and pragmatic spirit, where chronologies are broken down, opposites attract and new connections are made. In Remix, musical history becomes a resource to be plundered and the works of art in this exhibition reflect the pick’n’mix DJ mentality that develops from a sense of nostalgia, irony and connoisseurship. This approach has recently developed through the use of sampling technologies, but has long been at the centre of popular music: whether in the sampling of Steely Dan and Kraftwerk by artists such as De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambatta or the fully sampled soundscapes of The Avalanches or Dr Octagon, to name but a few.
For the artists in Remix (who will include Rineke Dijkstra, Chris Ofili, Gillian Wearing, Gary Hume, Fiona Banner, Gavin Turk, Wolfgang Tillmans and Andrea Bowers) music appears as a form of inspiration and their work reflects the visual cultures of film, video and photography that are closely associated with the appreciation and consumption of music. They engage with genres as varied as techno, rock, hip-hop, soul and film soundtracks. They examine in different ways musical histories and their visual associations, the desire to idolise pop stars, DJs and groups, and the glamour of celebrities, as well as the excitement of pop concerts and club culture.
Liverpool is known the world over for its pop music heritage. It was the first point of entry for American soul and pop records and the current popularity of dance and club culture in the city (particularly Cream) speaks of a continuing creative tradition. Remix will tap into this, drawing emotive analogies between the world of contemporary art and that of popular music in all its manifestations.
An illustrated catalogue will be produced to accompany the exhibition.