osa / Merzen
Feb 18th – April 16th
Late night opening 6-8pm 28th March
CUBE, Centre for the Urban Built Environment, is showcasing an ambitious commission.
Based on the reflection of the work of artist Kurt Schwitters, osa is developing an accessible and tangible installation in the space of CUBE gallery Manchester. osa’s installation refers to Schwitters’ own collage technique which he called “Merz”, a method of rearranging collected objects such as papers, timber, wire, text snippets and paint.
“Merz is sensing without knowing”, Kurt Schwitters, 1920
The installation has transformed the gallery space by using materials collected and provided by the city of Manchester, and aims to blur the border between existing space and installation i.e frame and content.
As with the city development itself, the idea deals with the transformation process of the materials through the application within the installation as well as (the transformation) of the whole (overall system) as a reaction of addition and overwriting. This leads to deliberate context displacement.
The installation has grown and continues to grow in three stages (the next being 25-28 March) and visitors are encouraged to become part of the development process by bringing their own collected materials of the built environment into the gallery.
Parts of the gallery space have been turned into a material store which not only acts as a collection point for the different ingredients of the installation, but also links back to the former function of the building.
This exhibition is supported by the Arts Council of England
An international conference about Kurt Schwitters will be held at CUBE ON Saturday 26th March. Visit www.merzbarn.net for more info.
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