Alistair Gentry
Encyclopedia
Alistair Gentry is an artist
and author
of a number of science fiction
works, including the novels Their Heads Are Anonymous (1997), and Monkey Boys (1999), and the recently published collection of short stories, "Uncanny Valley" (2008). In 2003 (with Lane Ashfeldt) he founded the new fiction site Pulp.Net, and he has been an editor and board member since then. Currently based in the UK, Gentry has also lived in China
and Japan
.
His artwork is diverse and he works across Britain and internationally, including China, the Netherlands
, Poland
, Estonia
, Spain
, Germany
, Sweden
, the United States
and Japan. Group exhibitions include New Forest Pavilion at the 51st International Art exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia (2005), Blink at Gasworks Gallery
, London (2006), Broadcast Yourself at Hatton Gallery
, Newcastle and Cornerhouse
, Manchester (2008).
He collaborated with illustrator
and film maker Joe Magee on the digital animation
Hypnomart (2001), which was made from shopping mall surveillance footage for Channel 4
Television’s Animate1. It was one of three finalists for a British Animation Award in the Best Film at the Cutting Edge and Best Use of New Technology categories.
Alistair Gentry was awarded an Arts Council England
/ English Heritage Artist’s Fellowship in 2004 and was artist in residence for New Media Scotland and the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum at the University of Edinburgh
(2006–2007).
Working predominantly in video
, animation, performance
and photography
, Gentry’s work in all media frequently involves narrative
, oratory
and storytelling
. The subject matter is often related to traditional and contemporary folklore
, esoterica and Forteana of Britain
, Europe
and Asia
.
LPT BNB GDD LGN JPN (2008)
Video with national Characteristics (2007)
Kitsune San (2007)
Mourning Wood (2006)
QINGDAO 58 MIDDLE (2006)
Stag Film (Actaeon & Artemis) (2005)
Black Sun (2006)
Phantom Power (2005)
Kiddy Fiddler (Ganymede & Zeus) (2005)
Hypnomart (2001)
Phantom Power (2005)
Werewolves (2002)
Chimera™ (2001)
NonAmbient (2000)
May 2009, Art of the Overhead, Stapelbäddsparken, Malmö, Sweden
September 2008, Kitsune Yoru (Fox Night), Dislocate 08, Yokohama, Japan
August 2008, Journeys, at Claremont Art Space No. 12, Hastings, UK
Video Vortex Reader: Responses to YouTube (2008), by Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer (eds.), (Institute of Network Cultures)
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of a number of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
works, including the novels Their Heads Are Anonymous (1997), and Monkey Boys (1999), and the recently published collection of short stories, "Uncanny Valley" (2008). In 2003 (with Lane Ashfeldt) he founded the new fiction site Pulp.Net, and he has been an editor and board member since then. Currently based in the UK, Gentry has also lived in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
His artwork is diverse and he works across Britain and internationally, including China, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan. Group exhibitions include New Forest Pavilion at the 51st International Art exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia (2005), Blink at Gasworks Gallery
Gasworks Gallery
Gasworks Gallery is based by the Oval Cricket Ground in South East London. It is part of Triangle Arts Trust, an international network or residencies and workshops offering artists the opportunity develop their practice stimulated by a climate of international exchange and dialogue...
, London (2006), Broadcast Yourself at Hatton Gallery
Hatton Gallery
The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and is a part of the Great North Museum. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building.- History :...
, Newcastle and Cornerhouse
Cornerhouse
Cornerhouse is a centre for cinema and the contemporary visual arts located very close to Oxford Road Station, on Oxford Street in Manchester, England...
, Manchester (2008).
He collaborated with illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and film maker Joe Magee on the digital animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
Hypnomart (2001), which was made from shopping mall surveillance footage for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
Television’s Animate1. It was one of three finalists for a British Animation Award in the Best Film at the Cutting Edge and Best Use of New Technology categories.
Alistair Gentry was awarded an Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
/ English Heritage Artist’s Fellowship in 2004 and was artist in residence for New Media Scotland and the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
(2006–2007).
Working predominantly in video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, animation, performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, Gentry’s work in all media frequently involves narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
and storytelling
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
. The subject matter is often related to traditional and contemporary folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, esoterica and Forteana of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Video works
Taxonomy (2008)LPT BNB GDD LGN JPN (2008)
Video with national Characteristics (2007)
Kitsune San (2007)
Mourning Wood (2006)
QINGDAO 58 MIDDLE (2006)
Stag Film (Actaeon & Artemis) (2005)
Black Sun (2006)
Phantom Power (2005)
Kiddy Fiddler (Ganymede & Zeus) (2005)
Hypnomart (2001)
Installation works
Three Times True (2007)Phantom Power (2005)
Werewolves (2002)
Chimera™ (2001)
NonAmbient (2000)
Recent exhibitions
February 2009, Magickal Realism, Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester, UKMay 2009, Art of the Overhead, Stapelbäddsparken, Malmö, Sweden
September 2008, Kitsune Yoru (Fox Night), Dislocate 08, Yokohama, Japan
August 2008, Journeys, at Claremont Art Space No. 12, Hastings, UK
Further reading
The Berwick Gymnasium Fellowship: An Archival Record (2008), by Judith King (ed.), (English Heritage and Art Editions North)Video Vortex Reader: Responses to YouTube (2008), by Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer (eds.), (Institute of Network Cultures)