Aftermath: Three New Films Released Online

Did you miss Foreground’s inaugural public exhibition in its Document and Location programme this Spring?

Aftermath featured new work by artists and Document and Location members Sophie Hayes and Huma Mulji across two concurrent solo exhibitions sited in a former launderette and abandoned restaurant that are now two of Bristol’s newest artist run spaces. The exhibition explored the artists’ shared interest in how the representation of place can be used as a vehicle for the communication of psychological and emotional states.

Following the conclusion of the exhibition, you can now view the full suite of films featuring documentation of the various stages of the exhibition’s production as well as a screen-based recreation of Sophie Hayes’ work.

Explore the new Aftermath Documentary

We are delighted to announce that a new documentary film made about Aftermath is now available to view online. The documentary, created by regular Foreground collaborators 2b13 Productions, offers fascinating insights into the production of Aftermath. Interviews with both artists and with Aftermath’s curator, Foreground Director Simon Morrissey, are woven between detailed documentation of the artist’s installations, allowing viewers to learn more about the core ideas and themes at play in the project whilst experiencing the artist’s compelling exhibitions themselves.

Before you watch the new documentary make sure to explore the project on the Document and Location website.

Read Aftermath (footnotes)

Colleagues and friends who met in Bristol in 2017 despite coming from very different parts of the world, Hayes and Mulji engaged in an in-depth research dialogue during the making of their new works for Aftermath. This dialogue saw them record the inspirations, insecurities, pressures and preoccupations that made up the 8 months before the exhibitions through candid letters they wrote to each other over email.

Originally shared as a screen-based text work at both the gallery sites, the letters between the artists provided their audience with intimate access to the private intellectual and emotional questions that led to Aftermath and were an audience highlight of the exhibitions. The full work can now be viewed on the Fieldwork page on the Document and Location website.

Experience Sophie Hayes’ installation online

Hayes’ installation for a former launderette consisted of two related works using sound and photographic images. The first work depicted a nondescript rural fly tip in an unspecified location through two large-scale photographs – the aftermath of illegal waste disposal. Piles of discarded domestic furniture that lie on the left and right-hand side of a dead-end road were split into two images. These images were accompanied by an intrusive abstract audio composition that dominated the viewer and projected a sense of mounting anxiety and trauma into the uneventful rural location in the images. Together, the seemingly disconnected elements of the installation built to suggest the gaps in understanding that result from opposing viewpoints that fail to connect.

Recreated as a screen-based film to share with online audiences, the arresting new version of Hayes’ work can now be viewed on the Online page on the Foreground website.

Want to explore more?

You can watch all 3 Aftermath films and more fascinating content from artists in the Document and Location programme by exploring our dedicated Document and Location playlist on the Foreground YouTube channel.