Resisting Resignation

"My footsteps echo across the floors of a gallery that seems nearly empty of people or art. Yet as I wander the gallery, I am mirrored by swarms of people that seem to flurry across the walls. From behind the glass of orderly, and often rather small, black and white photos, jubilant masses rush towards me arms raised, sometimes alongside grim-faced placard-carrying companions, while in others children play amidst rubble, friends embrace, and couples kiss."

"As I cross room after room, I am passing through a century of Britain's past. I am reminded of sitting on the floor of a darkened room in New York's sedate Metropolitan Museum of Art, when Wolfgang Tillman's video installation of pounding music, flashing lights, and twirling mirror ball appeared on screen, creating a reflection not only on the artificiality of that dance club environment, but of that which we were in."

Turner Contemporary's Margate setting places human protest against a washed-out seascape and diffuse, horizonless light. Empty gallery floors contrast with walls filled with small, orderly black-and-white photographs that project jubilant crowds, placard-bearing demonstrators, children amid rubble, embraces, and kisses. A recalled memory of Wolfgang Tillmans' video installation links image-driven reflection to the viewer's bodily presence. The exhibition traverses a century of British history. The curated selection gathers material from underfunded archives. The photographs document people rising up or lying down in protest against norms tied to gender, sexuality, race, religion, disability, or occupation, challenging established narratives.

Read at The Philosopher