Until 18 May 2008

FAISAL ABDU’ALLAH:
The Browning of Britannia

A new BFI Southbank commission by British artist Faisal Abdu’Allah tells the extraordinary life of Ago Piero Ajano. Presented as a video installation, it is the result of three years of research into the fascinating and mysterious life events of this man. Ago Piero Ajano’s life in many ways exemplified Abdu Allah’s concerns with ideas of truth and fiction, present in his previous work, with his aim to challenge authority.


30 May – 31 August 2008

susan pui san lok:
Faster, Higher

Faster, Higher is staged to coincide with the Beijing Olympics and act as an imaginative precursor to London 2012. Exploring the visual rhetoric of idealism, unity and aspiration, invoking both the Olympics as spectacle and movement and China’s parallel sports culture, this new commission revolves around television and film material from the BFI National Archive and new footage shot on location in London. Faster, Higher contrasts spectacular, fleeting moments of physical excellence with the routine endurance of young athletes in training, and the anonymous labour reinforcing the perimeters that screen London’s Olympic stage-in-the-making. Commissioned by the BFI and Film and Video Umbrella. Supported by Arts Council England.


12 September – 16 November 2008

PIERRE BISMUTH / MICHEL GONDRY:
The All Seeing Eye

This project is by visual artist Pierre Bismuth in collaboration with acclaimed director Michel Gondry. Created two years ago but never previously seen in the UK, it expands on their long standing partnership which culminated in their Oscar winning creation of the script of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An immersive video installation created specifically for a gallery context, it explores themes present in both artists’ practice and brings Gondry back into Bismuth’s contemporary art realm. The Gallery will also commission Bismuth to create a new commission for the foyer space at BFI Southbank


About BFI Southbank

BFI Southbank (located between the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall) has the only London art gallery specifically dedicated to commissioning and showcasing artists’ films and videos and the moving image in its most contemporary forms. There’s more to discover about film and television through the BFI. Our world-renowned archival collections, cinemas, films, publications and learning resources are there to inspire you.