Nominal_Politics
17th June - 16th July 2004

T1+2 Artspace is pleased to host Nominal_Politics, a selection of recent works by Manuel Saiz. Saiz works in a variety of media, employing performance, video and installation, using these means to address issues involving the nature of politics, and in particular how "the political" is today constituted, managed and presented.

Countdown by Fallback utilises 28 incandescent lamps presented so as to echo the shape of a 4-digit electronic display board, accompanied by 28 switches arranged in the same formation. These may be activated by a participant in the gallery space. The piece also includes a monitor displaying a countdown from 9999 - 0000, with the actual numbers generated by the participant being shown as they are produced.

Grief Management is made up of a soundproof but transparent vitrine in which has been placed a monitor containing a small extract from the Ingmar Bergman film Fanny and Alexander (1982). The vitrine may be opened by the viewer, allowing the film loop's soundtrack to be heard at high volume. The section from Bergman involves a woman wailing loudly as she contemplates her husband's coffin.
 
New Improved Formula (A Commercial Case Study) is a remake of a short scene from Peter Weir's Witness (1986). In this scene Harrison Ford plays the role of a cop who makes a joke for an Amish family by mocking a TV commercial for coffee. They do not understand the joke as they have never watched television. The remake creates a new layer in the consciousness of the actors when interpreting the role: the actor now plays the role of Harrison Ford playing the role of John Book playing the role of a commercials actor playing the role of a husband.
All Resistance is Useless is a video documenting a single person demonstrating on a deserted street. A precarious mechanical structure made from trolleys and pushchairs carries placards bearing the words "WE ARE THE PEOPLE", whilst portable cassette players audibly reproduce the same sentence.

Manuel Saiz is also currently showing at the East End Academy exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery.