David Blandy
Encyclopedia
David Blandy is a British
artist
. He was educated at the Slade School of Fine Art
and the Chelsea College of Art and Design
in London. His most recent exhibition is "Represent", a two-person show with Swedish artist Saskia Holmkvist at Gasworks, London. Blandy will have his first solo show at Cell Project Space, London
, in 2007, as part of Jerwood Artist Platform.
Blandy produces video, performances and comics that deal with his problematic relationship with popular culture, highlighting the slippage and tension between fantasy and reality in everyday life. Either as a white man mouthing the words to the underground soul
classic “Is it because I’m black” in ‘hollow bones’ (2001), or being taught how to make art by the deceased martial arts star Bruce Lee
in ‘emotional content’ (2003), Blandy searches for his cultural position in the world. His work humorously asks the difficult question of just how much the self is formed by the mass-media of records, films and television, and whether he has an identity outside that.
After gaining an artist’s residency with Grizedale Arts
in 2004, Blandy has continued this investigation in his recent Barefoot Lone Pilgrim video/performance pieces in which he integrates real life and virtual adventures. Donning the orange robes of a Buddhist Shaolin Monk, his portable record player in hand, he has been a hermit in an 18th Century park, Painshill Park
in Surrey
, made an American road trip, and searched for the places that had associations with soul songs in New York. In this most recent pilgrimage, Blandy’s monk headed for the Lake District
in the north of England, to search for the "Soul of the Lakes" (2005), walking between the two record shops in the area. Intercutting the footage of the "real" journey with segments from films such as "Shogun Assassin
" and "Princess Mononoke
" and television programmes "Kung Fu
" and "Monkey
", Blandy weaves together an idiosyncratic tale of self-discovery which is all the more believable for its shifts into fantasy and personal reverie.
In another strand of his work, Blandy collaborates with young people to form documentaries or alternative video portraits. In "Radio Nights" (2005)Blandy continued his relationship with the young people from the Avenues Youth Project in Queen's Park, London, following on from a previous Artangel
Interaction commission. It investigates the invisible worlds of the listeners and broadcasters of West London's rich radio culture, from late night call-ins to underground MCs tussling for airwaves, from the pirate innovators of the 1980s to the Grime
stars of the future. Blandy continued the collaboration by taking members of the Avenues to participate in the Coniston Water
festival, juxtaposing urban and rural cultures, dressing a boat in “bling” and performing grime in a Tudor
barn. While there, the Avenues co-composed a new song “The Cumbrian Way” with children John Ruskin High School in Coniston.
Blandy’s video work is distributed by LUX: www.lux.org.uk and is supported by an Artsadmin Live Arts Bursary 2005-2006
David Blandy’s recent group exhibitions include Projekt Migration, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, 2005; The Mind is a Horse (Part II), Bloomberg Space, London; New Contemporaries 2004, Barbican, London, 2004; Ethnic Marketing, Centre d’art Contemporain, Geneva, 2004 and Romantic Detachment, PS1, New York and touring, 2004.
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...
artist
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...
. He was educated at the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
and the Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
in London. His most recent exhibition is "Represent", a two-person show with Swedish artist Saskia Holmkvist at Gasworks, London. Blandy will have his first solo show at Cell Project Space, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 2007, as part of Jerwood Artist Platform.
Blandy produces video, performances and comics that deal with his problematic relationship with popular culture, highlighting the slippage and tension between fantasy and reality in everyday life. Either as a white man mouthing the words to the underground soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
classic “Is it because I’m black” in ‘hollow bones’ (2001), or being taught how to make art by the deceased martial arts star Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
in ‘emotional content’ (2003), Blandy searches for his cultural position in the world. His work humorously asks the difficult question of just how much the self is formed by the mass-media of records, films and television, and whether he has an identity outside that.
After gaining an artist’s residency with Grizedale Arts
Grizedale Arts
Grizedale Arts is a contemporary arts residency and commissioning agency in the central Lake District in rural Northern England. It conducts cultural projects locally, nationally and internationally...
in 2004, Blandy has continued this investigation in his recent Barefoot Lone Pilgrim video/performance pieces in which he integrates real life and virtual adventures. Donning the orange robes of a Buddhist Shaolin Monk, his portable record player in hand, he has been a hermit in an 18th Century park, Painshill Park
Painshill Park
Painshill Park , near Cobham, Surrey, England, is one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th century English landscape park. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by the Hon. Charles Hamilton .Painshill Park is owned by Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by the Painshill Park...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, made an American road trip, and searched for the places that had associations with soul songs in New York. In this most recent pilgrimage, Blandy’s monk headed for the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
in the north of England, to search for the "Soul of the Lakes" (2005), walking between the two record shops in the area. Intercutting the footage of the "real" journey with segments from films such as "Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin, known in Japan as , is a jidaigeki film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo....
" and "Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
" and television programmes "Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
" and "Monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
", Blandy weaves together an idiosyncratic tale of self-discovery which is all the more believable for its shifts into fantasy and personal reverie.
In another strand of his work, Blandy collaborates with young people to form documentaries or alternative video portraits. In "Radio Nights" (2005)Blandy continued his relationship with the young people from the Avenues Youth Project in Queen's Park, London, following on from a previous Artangel
Artangel
Artangel is a London-based arts organisation founded in 1985 by Roger Took. Directed since 1991 by James Lingwood and Michael Morris, it has commissioned and produced a string of notable site-specific works, plus several projects for TV, film, radio and the web...
Interaction commission. It investigates the invisible worlds of the listeners and broadcasters of West London's rich radio culture, from late night call-ins to underground MCs tussling for airwaves, from the pirate innovators of the 1980s to the Grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
stars of the future. Blandy continued the collaboration by taking members of the Avenues to participate in the Coniston Water
Coniston Water
Coniston Water in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. It is five miles long, half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet , and covers an area of . The lake has an elevation of 143 feet above sea level...
festival, juxtaposing urban and rural cultures, dressing a boat in “bling” and performing grime in a Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
barn. While there, the Avenues co-composed a new song “The Cumbrian Way” with children John Ruskin High School in Coniston.
Blandy’s video work is distributed by LUX: www.lux.org.uk and is supported by an Artsadmin Live Arts Bursary 2005-2006
David Blandy’s recent group exhibitions include Projekt Migration, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, 2005; The Mind is a Horse (Part II), Bloomberg Space, London; New Contemporaries 2004, Barbican, London, 2004; Ethnic Marketing, Centre d’art Contemporain, Geneva, 2004 and Romantic Detachment, PS1, New York and touring, 2004.