WITH at Rokeby

WITH at Rokeby

08 September, 2008
by: SUSIE

Is it a painting? Is it a photograph? Is it a sculpture? No! It's a multimedia presentation of the Life Enhancement Solutions^TM created for Rokeby gallery owners Ed and Beth Greenacre by agents for satirical semi-fictional self-help organisation WITH. Glad we cleared that up.

In WITH's ironic world of management-speak, the English language is no longer something reassuringly contained within your well-thumbed dictionary. Instead, they facilitate Experiential Offsetting^TM through a range of Life Enhancement Solutions^TM such as CONTENTIMENT^TM where an agent lives an ideal version of the client's future or VIOLENTOME^TM through which an agent performs violent acts on behalf of the client. WITH provide their clients with all the relevant documentary evidence, be it framed email correspondence, a memory stick nestled in a presentation box, a video sent via Bluetooth or a series of DVDs. WITH create the memories that we supposedly lack. They fill the spiritual void in our existence. They help us to grow as people.

Assuming the role of an official organisation allows WITH to analyse current social systems. Each product is a compelling exploration of our lifestyles, our beliefs and ideals. They play with the ideals of Western society, ideals that are warped by transnational corporations which dictate what is normal, healthy and desirable.

The current show at Rokeby dedicates most of the space to the new projects created specifically for the two gallery owners. Enacting an event on behalf of a paying client is almost an allegory for art itself. The fact that in this instance, it is the gallerists who requested these specific services makes it all the more interesting, considering the increasingly creative role of curators in the contemporary art scene. HOMESPACE^TM and KNOWTHING^TM are 'live' projects, and continue for the entirety of the exhibition. Presented on opposing walls, they invite comparison. KNOWTHING^TM, created for Beth, allows her to continue her working day while an agent does absolutely nothing on her behalf, whereas HOMESPACE^TM provides an agent to undertake Ed's daily exercise for him.

Seemingly opposite, the presentational evidence of each is startlingly similar. Images of the agent doing nothing are regularly emailed, printed and presented on shelves clearly marked with the time and day. The rows of faces are painted bright green to allow easy transposition of an image of the client's face onto the agent's, for greater product assimilation. A similar row of green faces opposite is the result of HOMESPACE^TM, but each of these fronts a DVD recording of the exercise undertaken and is accompanied by the T-shirt (branded 'WITH' and name-tagged 'Ed Greenacre') in which the agent performs the workout. The visual effect is playful and very appealing. This sense of fun is fundamental in the battle against commercialism. Watching Ed Greenacre sip red wine and chat to friends and colleagues while a WITH agent sweats on the screen behind him makes for an entertaining juxtaposition.

This is not a performance art of impenetrable poetry or the artsy provocative drama that makes the medium so off-putting to so many. These pieces are attractive and effective in the context of a contemporary art environment in which performative and interactive aspects play an increasingly important role (as indeed they do in contemporary society more broadly: c.f. reality television, social networking sites etc).

The adoption of the linguistic thuggery perpetrated by middle-management is a comment on an art scene infiltrated by branding and commercialism. The collective behind WITH are also concerned about the role of art and the artist - concerned that freedom of expression is being swallowed up by the pervasive presence of big business in all facets of contemporary life.

With this in mind, it is jarring to be clutching a pricelist. It feels wrong. This work almost seems above all that. Maybe part of the appeal of performance art is that it isn't easily marketable. But of course an artist has to sell work to be able to survive. It's only unfortunate that big corporations have sullied the entire act of selling and turned it into dirty profiteering.

Click here to see what's on at Rokeby.

Or click here to find out more about WITH.

SUSIE