“…the paranormal can act as a test bed and a language of questioning and dissent…”
We are really pleased that CCQ Magazine have published an article about the Absent but not Forgotten project on their website. Written by Kirsten Hinks, who has seen the project develop from its first iteration at The Last Gallery in 2010, the article takes a really interesting view on the underlying themes of ABNF.
We really enjoyed Radio 3’s The Essay in the week leading up to Halloween. Novelist, Andrew Martin shared his thoughts about ghosts and ghost stories in five 15 minute episodes called The Further Realm – his introduction was particularly pertinent for Absent but not Forgotten:
“Anyone who has the dubious pleasure of getting to know me is likely to be asked at some point ‘Have you ever seen a ghost?’. It is not something to be asked of doctrinaire empiricists and sometimes I miscalculate. I once pitched an idea for an article about an apparent haunting to an editor I thought I saw eye-to-eye with, ‘Sorry’ he replied, ‘we are a ghost free zone’. I should have guessed, because he’s also a humour free zone. I’ve never heard from him since. I suppose he assumes I believe in ghosts, which to his mind is like believing in fairies.
Do I believe in ghosts? I certainly believe in, that is to say I appreciate ghost stories whether avowedly fictional or purporting to be factual.
The ghost story writer M.R. James once said: ‘I am prepared to consider the evidence and accept it if it satisfies me’ and that goes for me too; and I enjoy considering the evidence.”
Andrew Martin – The Further Realm: Episode 1 – Radio 3 The Essay first broadcast Monday 26 October 2015
Absent but not Forgotten travelled into England for an evening of screenings and discussion at Oxford’s ‘Old Fire Station’ over the weekend. Spectral Landscapes explored the representation of landscape – specifically the “English Eerie” – in film, music, and art.
Whilst staying in Oxfordshire we went on a bit of a road trip filming in the landscape for a series of new video works we hope to develop over the coming months. The series will explore similar themes about the permeability of landscape as a spectral phenomenon; the slippage and spillage of history, place and existence into and through itself.
Robert Macfarlane‘s article The Eeriness of the English Landscape in The Guardian earlier in the year touches on some of the contemporary and historical references coalescing around the subject.
For Made in Roath 2015, Absent but not Forgotten were lucky enough to be able to work with Rose Street Flea Market to install existing work as part of the festival on 11 October and will also be undertaking a mini ‘residency’ in the building on 7 & 8 November.
For 11 October we started to get a feel for the location having met with proprietor, Frank a few times to chat about the flea market and his experiences of being in the building over the last 4 years.
The flea market is an amazing warren of objects collected together by proprietor Frank from a lifetime of magpie finds and house clearance. What appears to be a completely eclectic muddle of things we found to be actually quite carefully thought about and placed. It has the satisfying illusion of chaos which allows the visitor to feel like an explorer discovering everything for the first time.
We wanted our first foray into the building to be unobtrusive. We decided to select a number of framed-up prints from our ‘ghost-in-a-sheet’ series of lo-fi and Polaroid images to place discreetly amongst the existing framed pictures and photographs for visitors to happen upon.
Thanks to Frank for hosting us (and for getting under a sheet for a quick snap!) and to Made in Roath for finding us such a great venue.
Absent but not Forgotten are off to Cardiff tonight for BYOB III in The Abacus with BIT Studios. Experimenting with some new footage…come and say hello!
Absent but not Forgotten were featured at the Bring Your Own Beamer event at Draw Inc in Hamilton New Zealand on 15 May. Thanks to BIT Studios in Cardiff who organised for the BYOB Cardiff II artists to be screened in NZ.
Absent but not Forgotten will be bringing our own beamer to bit studios on Saturday 8 March 6:30 – 9:30
Here’s a link to a set of images from our recent installation at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, The Seventh Room
We’re very excited to have installed our new work The Seventh Room at Aberystwyth Arts Centre as part of Abertoir Horror Festival 2011. We’re only here until Friday midnight – so come along and visit us if you’re in the area.
Our lovely catalogue has now been printed too – let us know if you’d like a copy.
Many thanks to Abertoir, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and The Arts Council of Wales for their support.
Absent but not Forgotten have been putting the finishing touches to our forthcoming contribution to Abertoir Horror Festival at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
The Seventh Room is an installation piece using video, sound, textiles, technical objects and furniture, influenced by the world of horror film and paranormal investigation.
We’ve been tweaking the sound today – there are a number of layers and soundscapes which have been mainly created using processed recordings from EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) sessions conducted in the Studio space which are overlaid with samples from the Vincent Price film, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ which will be showing during the festival.
Come and visit the installation between 9 – 11 November – we’ll be open from the afternoon of 9th and then from 11 am – 12 midnight on Thursday and Friday.
We’re also showing a documentary piece ‘Tales from Aberystwyth’ in The Box at the Arts Centre between 8 – 13 November.
Absent But Not Forgotten 