interface

A note from the curator

Curation. Creation. A cruel twist of fate, perhaps, that the two should sound so similar when spoken. "Ah, but of course", as many a curator will no doubt want to point out, "curation is creation!". Axiomatically, when one curates one also creates, and vice versa. I doubt that the repetition of these kinds of aphorisms serves... well... anyones's interests, really.

With <NAME>, my usual role as curator was somewhat turned on its head. Typically, one considers an exhaustive list of candidate art works, deems some of them interesting and some not, then draws a line around the former and convinces the viewer of some commonality shared by these works: a theme. What then, is one to do when the absence of a theme is made apparent from the outset?

By dispensing with the imposed artificiality of the theme, one is forced to consider the more substantive features shared by different art works. Ephemerality, humanness. Tying these disparate pieces together—indeed, tying these to the rest of artistic endeavour—is the unwavering expression of humanness.

Every piece selected for <NAME>, has something to say about what it is to be human. Conceited though it may sound, I am convinced that this process of reflection on and expression of the human condition is deeply ingrained in the Stoke psyche. Indeed, nearly all of the works included in <NAME> have been produced by artists local to the Stoke and Staffordshire region. I think it is small coincidence, then, that even our visa agency will not let us forget our essential humanity.