HDHB
Regina Barunke and Corin Sworn
10 November 2012

 

Artist talk as part of the exhibition "Paraphantoms"

In her work, Corin Sworn deals with the substantial question of subjective experience and in which way it is woven into social trends and cultural codes and becomes translated into history. Her drawings, installations and videos are loaded with references towards literature, theory and film that particularly look back into past. They address to big events such as the spectacular world exhibitions at the late 19th century, or to experimental schooling developed by the progressive education movement and the anti-authoritarian education of someone like A.S. Neill. Further, her works show a special preference for Hollywood movies with a dramatic ending, whether it be Jonathan Kaplan’s suburban drama "Over the Edge" (1979) about disillusioned teenager that serves as reference for her film "After School Special" (2009), or recordings of "Harry Potter" blockbuster movies that can be recovered in her collaborative work "HDHB", exhibited in the show. Rather than fetishizing these references as nostalgic or utopian, Corin Sworn seeks to investigate how each of these moments in time opens up new spaces for imagination, action and impulses for each individual. In search for sources of tradition she encounters significant arguments for the everlasting social power of art production.

Corin Sworn (born 1977 in London) is artist and lives and works in Glasgow.

Images
Corin Sworn: After School Special, 2009
Courtesy by the artist and Natalia Hug Gallery