something you’ve already seen

“Oooh you’ve turned me on. An inquisitive one aren’t you? Remember when Elton John sang ‘hold me closer tiny dancer’, imagine I’m the tiny dancer and I’m going to hold you a little bit closer as I explain some practicalities about this piece of art – something you’ve already seen, audio and headphones.”

something you’ve already seen is a 24 minute, site-specific audio journey for one. Exploring our relationship to viewing and being viewed in both the private space and the public space, you are guided down from the top floor of the Fine Art Society back to where you stepped off New Bond Street. The voice in your ears asks you to give your attention to everything but the art as you’re invited to view the building in a different way. Interested in the way that we behave in galleries, our expectations of spaces and how aware we are of what’s happening around us, the piece begins when you first enter the gallery, perhaps without you even knowing it.

“…The One That Has Gone Before who might or might not have been here when you were over there looking over here, and they are the you who looked over here and might or might not have seen someone who’s now somewhere else – does that make sense?”

The piece was commissioned as part of the contemporary exhibition What Marcel Duchamp Taught Me at The Fine Art Society. Marking the centenary of Duchamp’s readymade, the exhibition features 50 artists including Susan Collis, Martin Creed, Idris Khan, Cornelia Parker, David Shrigley, Gavin Turk and James Thurgood.

“To be honest, the more you study Duchamp, the less you know – he was so full of contradictions – so I thought the best thing to do was ask the artists.” Kate Bryan, Director of Contemporary, FAS

The exhibition opened with a private viewing on 9th October and then runs throughout October until 5 November 2014

Voiced by Jason Langley / Music by James Bulley

Supported by Martin and Lesley Reith with additional support from Sony.

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