On the occasion of his first solo show at Furini Arte Contemporanea, William Cobbing (born in 1974 in London, where he lives) presents his latest series of videos, photographs and sculpture. The artist recently undertook two artist residencies, one at Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the other one in Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the Scottish borders. On both occasions Cobbing produced works of art reflecting this immersion in these contrasting situations. Whereas the war in Afghanistan is a daily media occurrence, Berwick-upon-Tweed bears the fading scars of centuries of conflict between England and Scotland. The social, cultural and territorial environment is part of the artist’s thoughts whilst in these places, with Cobbing combining elements of local history with his ongoing art practice in the photographs taken in Afghanistan and in the sculpture and videos shot in Berwick.
The idea of reversal links these works and provides the central focus on the project: entropy and dissipation are recurring themes within the examined environmental contexts. His photographic “Bamiyan Mirror” series reflects the visual impact of the iconoclastic destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001, on the territorial context and on a wider and stratified social and individual perception, also critically reviewed through the mass media portrayal of the war torn region. Through the use of a mirror, this work leads the viewer to a dimension of disorientation induced by a perception of “absent presence”. With this sculptural intervention in the landscape, a reference is made to Land Art and in particular the works of Robert Smithson. One also finds a feeling of entropic dispersal and a reminiscence of certain works by Smithson in videos such as “Moon walker 1 & 2”, which were shot by the artist appearing to erase his footprints while walking along the beach in Berwick.
Cobbing also makes reference to the scene in Andrei Tarkovsky’s film “Andrei Rublev” in which a bronze bell is cast for a cathedral during the Tatar invasion of medieval Russia, making a subtle link to the disused bell tower in Berwick which once warned locals of enemy invasion. With the obscured images of Bamiyan, Cobbing comments on the present day distortion and embellishment of images of war in the media, which the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard referrerd to as “War Porn.”
Exhibition text by Rita Selvaggio.
William Cobbing studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London and then at De Ateliers in Amsterdam.
He has exhibited his work in different shows among which “A Secret History of Clay”, Tate Liverpool [2004], “Body-Con”, Arts Initiative Tokyo [2004], “A Room with a View”, Gemeente Museum, The Hague [2006], “William Cobbing”, Netwerk Centre for Contemporary Art, Belgium [2007], “Gradiva Project”, Freud Museum, Londra [2007-8], “Six of One, Camden Arts Centre”, London [2008], “Hasselt Triennial”, Belgium [2009]. He won a scholarship of the Arts Council England Helen Chadwick Fellowship in 2005/6 at Ruskin School and at the British School in Rome. In 2009 he obtained his residence at the Turquoise Mountain Foundation of Kabul.
William Cobbing
February 6th - March 23rd 2010
Furini Arte Contemporanea
Rome - Via Giulia 8
Opening times:
From Wednesday to Friday 1.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m.
Saturday 3.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m.
info: +39 06 68307443 (gallery); +39 0575 299678 (office)
info@furiniartecontemporanea.it
www.furiniartecontemporanea.it
with the support of The British School at Rome.
