Guy Sherwin - Live Cinema.

Sherwin's research practice as an artist/ filmmaker has been continuous since the early 1970s. Its broad goal is to produce and exhibit new aesthetic forms of cinema that challenge established norms and demonstrate viable alternatives. It develops the radical work of the London FilmMakers Co-op (est.1966) with which Sherwin was involved (Shoot Shoot Shoot Tate Modern 2002 + DVD 2006). This ‘material' practice was international (Anthology Film Archives New York) and stood in opposition to the illusionist codes of mainstream cinema. Today its radical motive is to also provide an analogue counterweight to the virtual worlds of the digital moving image.
Both Sherwin's RAE outputs advance this practice: 1 foregrounds exhibition, 2 production.
1. is a series of exhibitions of his ‘expanded' film work under the heading ‘Guy Sherwin: Live Cinema'. Commissioned by prominent international venues (see above) Sherwin curated each programme to exploit the formal / aesthetic possibilities of each venue. The work pushes the boundaries of film exhibition in its use of projection as live performance, exploiting the analogue qualities of 16mm film to create a vibrant aesthetic (Expanded Cinema, Dortmund, 2004).
Sherwin's strategy is to focus attention on the act of projection. This is achieved by use of multiple projectors and their siting in the space, or by live interaction with their projected light within the architecture of the exhibition space. Through this series of exhibitions new works are tested and developed (Vowels and Consonants 2005/6) and older works adapted (Cycles#31972/2003) with particular regard to their formal and aesthetic qualities.
The aesthetic ‘success' of the work is impossible to demonstrate but is evidenced by continuing invitations to exhibit, by British Council funding for travel to exhibit, by peer previews and reviews in magazines, newspapers and internet.