07 Nov 2009

Wallspace Gallery present Bill Aitchison

Do the CIA fund art? Who was really behind 7/11? Could the Da Vinci Code be true? Bill Aitchison, visionary performance artist, examines the world of belief and conspiracy theories.

After performing 2012 this summer in Beijing for the Open Performance Art Festival, Bill Aitchison returns to London with his evolving and open-ended work 2012, for the Wallspace gallery in the heart of the City of London.

2012 explores the conspiratorial mindset, colliding perspectives, theories and visions. With black humour it presents a snapshot of where desire and fear lead the imagination. Starting from questions on the nature of knowledge and how and what we can believe today, 2012 follows some seriously twisted logic, offering perceptive commentary on its way.

'I have always enjoyed reading about esoteric theories, UFOs and that sort of material, says Aitchison, 'but never took it seriously. I noticed that more recently that there has been an upsurge in interest in this area… I was troubled by the way they started out making sense but then took wrong turns.' He adds, 'The principal tension [about conspiracy theories], one which I think a lot of people feel, is that of not knowing what to believe, about the uncertainty that comes from not having full command of the facts.'

2012 is a performance 'about the conspiratorial mindset as a whole, rather than any one specific theory,' the artist explains. 'Whilst there are some pretty crazy theories in there, some of which are extremely funny, I also include things I genuinely believe and things I half believe or would like to believe…. 2012 is not simply about the stupid things other people think, it lands a lot closer to home with the crazier theories intruding in and casting doubt upon more conventional ones. That said, some bits of the show do look a lot like very black comedy.'

The 75-minute performance will be staged in All Hallows on the Wall church, London Wall. Booking essential.

'political and insanely funny…' Theater der Zeit, Berlin

2012 by Bill Aitchison
Thursday 12 November 2009 7 for 7.30pm start
Wallspace Gallery, All Hallows on the Wall,
83 London Wall, EC2M 5ND
Nearest tube stations Liverpool Street or Moorgate
Bookings iinfo@wallspace.org.uk Admission £3 at the door
www.wallspace.org.uk

2012 was created in collaboration with Boris Kahnert and James Dunn and with the support of Arts Council England, Theatre in Motion Beijing and Burton Taylor Studio Oxford

THE ARTIST
Bill Aitchison is a performance artist based in London. He has travelled his highly distinctive performances to galleries, theatres and festivals in the UK, US, China, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Israel and Croatia. He has spent extensive periods in New York's downtown performance scene and in Europe working collaboratively as a writer and performer. He has a BA in Fine Art /Psychology, an MA in Performing Arts and a practice-based PhD from the University of London on performance art and performer discipline. He has published artist's books and critical articles, taught workshops, lectured and made several works for radio. www.billaitchison.co.uk

WALLSPACE
Wallspace was launched in December 2006 as an exhibition venue, which showcases the richness, diversity and risk of contemporary work exploring the relationship between art and spirituality. It sets out to be a place where artists, curators and interested parties of all faiths and none can share insights, where art and spirituality can engage in experimental dialogue.

The first three years have established Wallspace as a venue that is prepared to take risks and to redefine what it means to put art in a sacred space. Previous exhibitors include Damien Hirst, Sam Taylor Wood, Sokari Douglas Camp, Makoto Fujimura, Ana Maria Pacheco, Willie Williams and Jake Lever together with performance artists Marcus Coates, Brigit Connolly and Bobby Baker as well as many young and emerging artists.

THE CHURCH: ALL HALLOWS ON THE WALL
All Hallows was designed by the architect George Dance the younger and built in 1765-7. It replaced one built in 1300. The first mention of a church on this site was in 1120. All Hallows on the Wall stands literally on London Wall itself, built by the Romans around 200AD. The Guild Vicar of All Hallows is Canon Garth Hewitt. The Associate Vicar and Arts Chaplain is Malcolm Doney.