It is probably better to start from zero #2.1 News from the School of Art, Architecture and Design

IT IS PROBABLY BETTER TO START FROM ZERO is a long term curatorial and artistic project taking place in the Window Space, at The Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design.

IT IS PROBABLY BETTER TO START FROM ZERO is a long term curatorial and artistic project taking place in the Window Space, at The Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design, London Metropolitan University from December 2015 to July 2016.

The project intends to highlight the unfixed position of both artistic and curatorial practices and to assume them as research-based activities, potential nexus for discussion, critique and production. Through working with artists whose body of work functions as an ongoing process, the project aims to stress the growth, complexity and diversification of collaborative practices. The unpredictable state of flux inherent in artistic practice will shape the curatorial activity as a constant ”state of becoming”, as stated by the artist and curator Paul O’Neill. Inspired by the particular properties of the Window Space, the project will also look at the window as a frame of process, exploring the constraints and possibilities of displaying a body of work within these spatial and conceptual boundaries.

Each month, the project presents an artist using the Window Space as a catalyst to the production and continuity of their own work. The second manifestation of the project happens through the work of Juan Crespo. The artist’s web based ongoing practice focuses on aspects linked to historiographical interpretation from an interdisciplinary and new media perspective. This exhibition presents a physical form of THE DIASPORA OF THE LINE, a digital fictional archive created with files from the Imperial War Museum, British Empire and Commonwealth Museum. By using film stills and geometrical shapes Juan tends to destroy and fragment the sequential interpretation of the Colonialist process and overturn predetermined historical meanings.

The artist

Juan Crespo (b. 1987, Zaragoza) lives and works in London. He graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, where he also studied the MA in Artistic Production and Research. He has recently shown works in Barcelona (Sala d’Art Jove, ARSM or Loop Video Art Festival), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santander, “Biennal Leandre Cristófol” La Panera, Lleida and Festival Cine-Septiembre, Sinaloa, México. He is Co-Founder of PIL Project, presented at London Metropolitan University, and now part of the Digital Artist Residency within the Wrong Biennale. PIL Project has recently been granted in Step Beyond to develop a research project in the Russia's new internet content law.

The curators

Matilde Biagi (b. 1990, Florence) is a London-based curator. She graduated with a BA in Contemporary Arts studies at Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna and is currently a second year student studying MA Curating the Contemporary at The Cass Faculty of Art – Whitechapel Gallery. She works as Gallery Assistant at Transition Gallery and writes short reviews and articles for Garageland Magazine and CUCO – Cultura Commestibile. In 2015 she co-curated PROTECHT exhibition, at Bank Space Gallery, bringing together national and international artists, exploring the relationship with the screen and the impact it has on our everyday life. In October 2015 she worked in the Exhibitors Department at Frieze Masters and, as part CommaCollective, she collaborated with FloatArt London in the curation and production of FloatArt2015 exhibition at Bargehouse.

Inês Costa (b. 1991, Almada) is a curator and photographer based in London. In 2012 she graduated with a BA in Multimedia Arts – Photography from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon and is currently enrolled on the MA Curating the Contemporary at the Whitechapel Gallery and CASS Faculty of Art. She has done freelance photography work for names such as Fact Magazine PT, Ponto Alternativo, Big Issue Foundation and Tangram Theatre Company and is currently working as a Gallery Assistant at GX Gallery in London. In 2015 she co-curated PROTECHT at Bank Space Gallery, London, FloatArt2015 at the Bargehouse, London and Co-Founded CommaCollective, a curating collective based in London, with a focus on contemporary art and an ambition to work with emerging artists.

Antonio Terzini (b. 1985, Naples) is a London-based independent curator and art historian. He graduated in Modern Literature and specialised in Art History. In 2012, he completed an MA in Conservation of Contemporary Art at Plart Museum in Naples and he is currently enrolled on the MA Curating the Contemporary at the Whitechapel Gallery and The CASS. He collaborated with the curatorial staff of the Plart Museum and with art institutions in the UK, such as Spike Island, Bristol Museum and Cell Project Space. He is co-founder of CommaCollective and is currently involved in curatorial projects between Italy and the UK. He recently co-curated the exhibition PROTECHT (March 2015) at Bank Space Gallery in London, featuring national and international artists.