Re imaging Donald Rodney 1 Introduction Reimaging Donald Rodney explores the work of Black British artist Donald Rodney (1961 – 1998). It is the first UK exhibition to examine Rodney’s digital practice, and through new commissions expands on the potential of Rodney’s archive as a resource for challenging our conceptions of cultural, physical and social identity. Donald Rodney was considered to be He developed his artistic skills during one the most significant artists of his prolonged periods of hospitalisation, generation. Mark Sealy, Director of resulting in him regularly missing Autography ABP stated in an online school, due to his sickle cell condition. interview with TATE Britain for their After taking an arts foundation collection of Rodney’s work; course at Bournville School of Art in Birmingham he went on to Nottingham “[Along] with Donald, Keith Piper, Eddie Trent, where he met Keith Piper and Chambers and people like Sonia Boyce, Eddie Chambers. Chambers and Piper Lubaina Himid. Those characters in my espoused the notion of Black Art/Black view are really quite seminal in terms of Power, which derived largely from beginning to create an articulate voice… the USA through black writers and he was really interested in working with activists like Ron Karenga. Becoming Exhibition new media and new technologies. One a prominent member of the Blk Arts of the great tragedies is that he was Group, RRodney highlighted the Reimaging Donald Rodney aims to The new works developed for the becoming very articulate within this sociopolitical condition of Britain in Donald Rodney, from encapsulate the digital embodiment exhibition include doublethink (2015), space around the end of his career”. 3 Songs of Pain the 1980s-90s, referencing the global Light and Time and legacy of Donald Rodney, a bespoke online site designed and impact of a colonial past. engaging a new generation with developed during workshops as Born in Smethwick, West Midlands in (25 mins, UK, 1995, by Trevor Mathison an historically important visual arts part of a one year research process, 1961 to Jamaican parents, Rodney and Whether political or personal, and Edward George) practice. Rodney’s innovation in the with the participation of members his family lived on Marshall St, visited by Rodney illustrated his versatility, face of the disabling, life limiting health of Wolverhampton Sickle Cell Care Malcolm X in 1965 when racial tension utilising a range of mediums for condition sickle cell anaemia further and Activity Centre (WSCCSAC) and in the area was high, due to Tory artistic expression through painting, informs two new commissions to artists Antonio Roberts and Sam minister Peter Griffiths’ racist campaign installations, audio, robotics, film and support collaborative digital practice, Wray. Alongside this we present slogan, “If you want a nigger for your archive. He chose to incorporate which will be presented during the Autoicon (1998), the original digital neighbour vote Labour”. The racial his medical condition in his artistic exhibition. These new works further archival website created in 1998 by climate to which Rodney was exposed practice, using it as a metaphor interrogate Rodney’s key technology Mike Phillips and members of Donald had a lasting impression on him. of black emasculation and racial enabled works originally produced Rodney plc. Autoicon was created stereotyping. Examples include the in the 1990s, Autoicon and Psalms specifically as a digital repository of delicate My Mother, My Father, My - and reference the interdisciplinary archival artefacts, related to Rodney. Sister, My Brother, a miniature sculpture methods Rodney brought together Rodney and Mike Phillips, as former of a house made from Rodney’s skin, in order to facilitate his practice, students of Slade School of Art, taken from his body, during one of specifically the art making collective were inspired by Jeremy Bentham, many operations he endured due to his ‘Donald Rodney plc’ comprising its founder, who left instructions for illness. Sadly, Rodney died from sickle- artists Keith Piper, Gary Stewart, and his own immortalization, through the cell anaemia in March 1998, aged 37. technologist Mike Phillips. creation of his Autoicon. “The Rodney Autoicon is being fashioned from the body of medical information gathered over a lifetime, by assembling a virtual body he will be able to exist in a pure information space”. 2 3 The 1997 work, Psalms wheelchair has been brought out of long term storage for this exhibition, and is the impetus for a new performance commission in collaboration with Birmingham Dance Network which navigates physicality and social identity. Originally unveiled at South London Gallery, October 1997, as Sketchbook number part of Rodney’s 9 Night in El Dorado Images and text have been carefully 40. Sketch titled exhibition, Psalms is motorised selected from 48 Sketchbooks ‘Ancertral Seat’ using a computer programme, which ,January 1993 produced by Rodney 1982- 98, enables it to continually navigate the Bound volume - digitised by Tate Britain, as part of sketchbook, Ink on gallery space, avoiding obstacles, its Donald Rodney display in 2004. paper, 210 x 145 mm human and inanimate objects alike. These selections provide an insight © The estate of The wheelchair was modified at of Rodney’s thoughts, concerns and Donald Rodney the School of Computing of the state of mind and samples of initial © Tate, London 2015 University of Plymouth to perform designs of planned works, some of a repeated sequence of circles, which are included in the exhibition. spirals and figures of eight, as specified by the artist. Psalms uses Truth Dare, Double-Dare (1994) 8 sonar sensors, shaft-encoders, a is an audio installation, originally video camera and a rate gyroscope commissioned by Ikon Gallery in to determine its position; a neural 1994, featuring Rodney and the late network using normalised RBF Rose Finn-Kelcey and inspired by nodes encodes the sequence of 25 a children’s game. Guy Brett at the semi-circular sequences of positions time of writing the installation review forming the trajectory. described what the audience would encounter “the voices give each artist’s unpremeditated, unrestrained and contradictory feelings about the other…The phrases are very personal and often painfully raw”. The audio provides a narrative of a collaborative experiment by two artists, as opposed to willing partners, their disembodied voices filling the gallery space. Through their dialogical exchange and personalities it brings into question facets of artistic ego, guilt, equality, authorship, gender and race. Like Psalms, the empty automated PSALMS wheelchair, continually navigating Wheelchair the gallery space, avoiding obstacles, Collection The Estate of Donald Rodney human and inanimate objects alike, Truth, Dare, Double-Dare adds further context to Rodney’s deteriorating health at the time of its creation, as he was hospitalised, whilst Rose was mobile. Its inclusion elicits further our understanding of an artist seeking solutions of being present. 4 5 John Barnes (1991) and Mexico We are pleased to include screenings Events Olympics (1991) are light boxes of two important films exploring featuring two sporting iconic Rodney’s life. 3 Songs on Pain Light Full programme details can be found at www.vividprojects.org.uk images, footballer John Barnes and and Time (1995) is a rarely seen video American athletes at the Mexico portrait in deliberately unbalanced Olympics in 1968. Barnes is seen colours, made by Trevor Mathison kicking a banana thrown from the and Edward George and produced crowd during his time as a player for with Black Audio Film Collective. Liverpool FC in 1980s – 90s. Voted The Genome Chronicles (2009) Liverpool’s best ever player by one directed by John Akomfrah will also of the sporting magazines and fifth be screened during the exhibition. all-time best player by Liverpool In the space of a few days in 1998, supporters, during his playing career, filmmaker John Akomfrah lost two Barnes endured the vitriol of racists people very close to him: his mother on the terraces, hurling abuse and and a friend, the British artist Donald notoriously, bananas at Barnes and Rodney. The Genome Chronicles is other black players. This image the filmmaker’s response to these captures one of those moments, events in the form of a ‘song cycle’ where we see Barnes back-heeling in ten parts, which combines his said object thrown from the crowd. own footage of repeated trips to the The Mexico Olympics in 1968 is best Scottish islands of Skye and Mull with 3 Songs of Pain remembered for the moment when Rodney’s own Super 8 footage. Light and Time two black athletes Tommie Smith and Reimaging Donald Rodney raises (25 mins, UK, 1995, John Carlos raised their fists in the by Trevor Mathison Black Power salute on the podium questions and supports audiences and Edward George) whilst the “Star Spangled Banner” to explore how digital technologies 7 October, 6 – 8pm 27 October, 7 – 9pm played in honour of them winning enable, re-define and extend the Public Preview for Digbeth Screening: The Genome Chronicles gold and bronze medals in the 200 creative potential of artists disabled First Friday and 3 Songs on Pain Light & Time metres. Carlos and Smith were by circumstances both social, physical and situational. This aspect Introduction and Q&A with curator booed by the crowd after leaving 22 October 1 – 3pm will be explored further through artist Ian Sergeant and Dr Rina Arya, the podium and later banned by the Collecting Birmingham event in talks and a symposium supported by Wolverhampton University International Olympics Committee partnership with Birmingham 3 Songs of Pain for the gesture. These images The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies Light and Time Museums Trust symbolise defiance; play on, or stand in British Art and University of 28 October, 6 – 9pm Join us for an afternoon exploring (25 mins, UK, 1995, tall in the face of certain sanction to Birmingham to examine the scope of Late viewing for Galleries Night by Trevor Mathison Donald Rodney’s work, its relevance and Edward George) raise awareness of their plight.