Nim-Jo Chung, 'I to am 1'. Image courtesy of the artist and Plan 9.
Synopsis
Plan 9 was a contemporary art initiative run by artists, curators and writers from 2006-2010. In 2008 Plan 9 worked with Bristol City Council to present ‘Somewhere Here’ a temporary project across the City Centre using advertising adshells to show the work of eight artists.
Description
Somewhere Here presented the work of eight artists on eight advertising hoardings situated throughout Bristol city centre, a place that had recently been redeveloped with 120 new shops opening as part of the Cabot Circus development and at the height of the economic crisis. Plan 9’s project, ‘Somewhere Here’ slipped into this gap between fantasy and reality, hijacking advertising space to provide the beleaguered shopper with a brief respite during the fall of capitalism.
The project featured the work by:Laura Bel, Simon Buckley, Nim Jo Chung, Karen Di Franco, Craig Fisher, Brian Griffiths, Sophie Mellor, Ellen Wilkinson.
Brian Griffiths extended his recent interest in posters and typography (Life is a Laugh for Art on the Underground 2007, Alive for A Foundation Liverpool 2007) with another blunt statement: The End of it. He quietly tapped into the routines of daily life and hinted at the grandness and absurdity of the human predicament and history. The poster which had an outdated design and shabby look appeared like an artifact left from another time.
Playing with the aspirational nature of advertising, Sophie Mellors work ‘Girl Gang’ tantalisingly invited 52% of the population (women) to meet her by her billboard on 29 November 2008 at 5pm, and join her Girl Gang.
Taking inspiration from the architecture of the previous post war development and the aspiration of modernist ideas, Karen Di Franco created a collage that reflected on ideas of redevelopment and lost memories whilst Nim-Jo Chung’s photo based work ‘I 2 am One’ presented a simple photograph of member of the public. Chung who, like an observant diarist, encourages serendipitous encounters with the world and its occupants, merely by being out there and amongst them. He catches a bus or plays guitar, takes a ferry or chats to a casual acquaintance, often with the resulting verbal exchanges transcribed and displayed as subtitles. His subjects are diverse, but retain at their core communications between people and place; the artificial, the natural and the temporal.
Plan 9
Plan 9 was a contemporary art initiative run by artists, curators and writers from 2006-2010. In 2008/2009 Plan 9 worked with Bristol City Council Artspace Lifespace and Urban Splash to take on new premises – a former police station in Bristol’s city centre, Bridewell Island - creating a gallery, project space and studios.
The programme was run by Plan 9 members, who organised or curated exhibitions and events themselves and invited other artists and curators to use the space. While occupying Bridewell Island Plan 9’s programme also included international and national residencies, one off events, screenings, critical debates and writing alongside their ambitious gallery programme.
