R.I.P. Germain & Ashley Holmes

Double 6 (2019)

09/08/2019

A one-night performance in collaboration with Ashley Holmes

Commissioned by Poor Image Projects for Poor Image Projects 8 as part of Index Festival 2019

Double 6 (2019) took place in a former courtroom at Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, UK

Poor Image Projects 8: Double 6, R.I.P. Germain & Ashley Holmes

Friday 9th August 2019

Poor Image Projects and Index Festival present: Double 6, a new, collaborative audio-visual installation by R.I.P. Germain and Ashley Holmes.

Unfolding as a one-night performance in the former courtroom of Leeds Town Hall, Double 6 takes conjunctures of race, class and British popular culture to consider the wider political and social value of Black life under the microscope of public courts of opinion. The work utilises the context and architecture of the courtroom to present a combination of textiles, painting, music and performance.

A series of hand-painted banners are displayed around the courtroom, alongside a speaker set-up installed, which plays a montage of music throughout the space that samples and references various musicians, genres and time periods.

Double 6 reflects on linguistic and performative creativity, to explore the combined roles of the canon of Black musical tradition, sports and entertainment in relation to how we understand conceptions of race in the context of a British political and social discourse. The work attempts to rationalise and question economic and social structures of domination, oppression, spectacle and the liberatory potential in cultural production that embodies notions of aspiration, wealth, love and death.

Ashley Holmes (b. 1990, Luton, based in Sheffield) is an interdisciplinary artist working across moving image, installation, performance, music and radio broadcasts. Holmes’ work and research considers the traditions and language of visual and aural histories of the Black identity, with an in-depth consideration for how they are carried across generations throughout history. Ashley Holmes studied at Sheffield Hallam University graduating with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Fine Art in 2013. Recent selected exhibitions and projects include Survey, Jerwood Arts, London, UK; ...and their tooth, finest gold, Les Urbaines, Lausanne, Switzerland; Cry Then Win Then Lose Reaction (solo), Two Queens, Leicester, UK (all 2018); Money Cyant Fool Them Again (solo) 1.1, Basel, Switzerland; Starless Midnight, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (both 2017).

R.I.P. Germain (b. 1988, Luton) is a conceptual artist and lecturer. His work primarily focuses on the inner and outer wars that pertain to the black male. He completed his BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Kingston University in 2011 and has lectured at Universität der Künste Berlin, University of Chicago Department of Visual Arts and University of Illinois. His debut show 'Gidi Up' opened in September 2018 at Peak in London and was commissioned by Arcadia Missa in November 2018 to provide a visual essay for their HTSF publication.

Poor Image Projects (PIP) is a nomadic event series showcasing experimental moving image and audiovisual art. Hosting screenings, performances and installations, PIP unfolds in various spaces across Leeds and beyond.

This event is supported by Leeds Inspired and Arts Council England with equipment kindly provided by Lumen. Additional thanks go to Jamie Hudson (graphic design) and Jules Lister (photography).