LIMITACTION - FREEDOM News from the School of Art, Architecture and Design

Third part of LIMITACTION, a six-month programme developed as an artistic and curatorial residency.

Date: 07/05/15

Freedom, the third chapter of LIMITACTION, investigates the concept of labour, its meaning and implications, whilst questioning the relationship between aesthetics and activism in art. Moving on from the phenomenon of privatisation of public outdoor spaces in London, artist Charlotte Warne Thomas explores ideas of political engagement and social responsibility, inrelation to notions such as freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom to protest. Taking advantage of the general election happening on the same day as the opening, the installation reflects on the current situation of politics in the UK, addressing issues concerning political action, the act of making and the artist’s labour; yet taking into account the context ofthe Window Space and its present function as a place for both production and display of art. 

Freedom is curated by Miriam La Rosa. The display will be on until 13 of May 2015. 

Notes for Editors

Charlotte Warne Thomas (London, UK) graduated with an MFA from Goldsmiths in 2009 and has since exhibited in the UK and internationally (India, Russia, Belgium). Her work investigates the myths of will power and individual choice as products of neoliberal ideology and consumerism. It incorporates imagery used in such fields as advertising, architecture, domesticity and bureaucracy, in order to highlight the power structures that are intrinsic in the fabric of everyday life. She explores institutions ranging from town planning to interior and furniture design, which implicitly manifest their authority through our surroundings, manipulating the behaviour, mood and atmosphere of individuals and societies. Central to her practice is Peer Sessions, an educational research platform providing CPD and collaborative opportunities for practicing artists.

LIMITACTION is a collaborative art project to develop a series of exhibitions as part of a curatorial and artistic residency, taking place in the Window Space from January to July 2015. Its conception comes as a response to the specific limitations of the space and in recognition of both its strengths and weaknesses, such as a high level of visibility, or its unusual dimensions and complete lack of public access. LIMITACTION is curated by Margarida Brôco Amorim, Alejandro Ball, Miriam La Rosa and Stefania Sorrentino; MA students of Curating the Contemporary: a course taught in collaboration between London Metropolitan University and the Whitechapel Gallery.

Window Space is a street-facing window gallery, which is visible 24 hours a day yet not accessible to the public. It is located on 59-63 Whitechapel High Street (E1 7PF, London) as part of The Cass building – home of the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design of London Metropolitan University. Nearest tube station: Aldgate East.