Neil Cummings

Self Portrait: Arnolfini

This event has already taken place and ended on 19 Feb 2012

Over the course of Arnolfini's 50th anniversary year, artist Neil Cummings  developed a series of self-portraits of the organisation. Presented throughout the building, these portraits trace Arnolfini's history and speculate on possible futures.

Working alongside designer Stephen Coates, Cummings has used data from the archive and the speculative conversations to realise a relational timeline that traces the presence of Arnolfini through three colours: pale blue representing the history of art and Arnolfini, purple for technological innovation, and olive green for social and financial organisation. Starting from the Bristol Riots of 1831, the timeline follows Arnolfini's expansion as it relocates from Triangle West to Queen Square and then to W-shed (now Watershed), before arriving at its current location in Bush House in 1975. The timeline ends on the second floor where the data becomes highly speculative, imagining what might unfold in the coming decades.

Self Portrait: Arnolfini will continue to expand with a data map tracing the presence of Arnolfini through space, people will be remembered in a social network map of staff, directors, artists, event programmers and curators; and a representation of the money and resources that have supported Arnolfini.

Neil Cummings is a professor at Chelsea College of Art and Design. He is a member of Critical Practice, a cluster of artists, researchers and academics, and is resident at Arnolfini throughout 2011.

Neil's artist's book, which expands further on this exhibit, can be purchased from the Arnolfini Bookshop. 

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