Can you tell us a bit about Totally Unprofessional?

The show at the Green Room involves objects that I have produced sculpturally that are physical, tactile objects but they’re only there as screen-based imagery. So they’re three-dimensional forms that have been reproduced as images and will then be shown as digital slide shows. My interest is in the absence of those objects and also in representing them as imagery within a digital non-space where you might lose the tactile, physical quality that those objects all have.

How are you presenting those objects digitally?

I’m showing an image of those objects using the modes of display that are all fairly common to commercial advertising or the type of screen technology that you see in shopping centres like the new Westfield out in Stratford. So it’s almost being shown in a way that references more familiar advertising imagery. I’m also fairly focussed on creating a taste for those qualities that a physical object might have or a physical process might have, but one that can only be accessed through interfacing with those objects or images, via a screen or something like that.

So you intend the screen to soften or fragment that original message of the sculpture by itself?

More than anything being fragmented or taking away from the quality that a three-dimensional form might have, I think when you move that into a virtual or a digital space, you’re presented with an entirely new set of possibilities in terms of how to deal with those sorts of elements. I often combine it with other elements of works that I’ve already made that might be taken from videos or images. Then I regurgitate those elements and reproduce them again as a slideshow or an image.

This is your second solo show, is there a vulnerability to doing a show by yourself?

There is part of me in the work, there is something that I want to say that obviously I sent a great deal of time thinking about and trying to develop so you feel fairly exposed. You know that you want there to be a discussion around the work. The response is something that is going to affect you either way. It’s going to have an impact, so my concern would be that the work doesn’t create any kind of discussion or any kind of dialogue.

Are you comfortable with people interpreting your work subjectively or do you want them to pick up on a specific message?

I enjoy the fact that people might come to the work and get something completely different from it than anything that I’ve intended. There are people who have spoken to me about the work and they’re saying what I’m thinking. If that wasn’t happening I would be very concerned. If they can’t engage with it and they look to you for an explanation, then it is meaningless. That essentially means that in that moment itself the work is meaningless. I’m more interested when it starts a discussion or dialogue, but I also find it quite fun when people clearly aren’t getting anything from it at all.

Totally Unprofessional is on until 18 November at The Green Room in Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road. thecomposingrooms.com

Words: Ellen Falconer

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(1) Celeste and Jesse Forever

Rashida Jones of Parks & Recreation and Saturday Night Live regular Andy Samberg star as a young married couple going through a divorce – but a couple that just so happens to live in the same house. Still. Co-written by Jones, the film is filled with intelligent, witty dialogue, complete with cringeworthy scenes familiar to anybody who’s ever been in a relationship that just won’t die.

(2) Everybody has a Plan

A Spanish-language identity thriller with Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen pulling double duty as identical twin brothers. Agustin feels trapped in his marriage and suddenly announces to his wife that he wants nothing more to do with their plans to adopt. Soon after, his twin Pedro turns up, and tells him that he is terminally ill with cancer. Realising that they’re each unhappy in their respective lives, they devise a plan to swap identities – but Agustin unintentionally becomes embroiled in Pedro’s criminal world. A riveting, modern take on the film noir genre.

(3) Great Expectations

Does anyone do ‘slightly unhinged’ better than Helena Bonham Carter? As Miss Havisham in the latest film adaptation of Dickens’ Great Expectations, the actress leads a cast of fine British acting talent, many of whom have are no stranger to the Harry Potter franchise themselves. Jeremy Irons stars as Pip, the orphan boy who receives a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor and moves to London to live as a gentleman.

(4) Ginger & Rosa

Inseparable BFFs Ginger and Rosa were born on the same day and at 17, are tumbling towards adulthood in drizzly 1960s London. Ginger (Elle Fanning) turns political activist while Rosa (newcomer Alice Englert) gets involved with Ginger’s father. A cast of accomplished, familiar faces (Christina Hendricks, Annette Bening) guide the girls through their tumultuous time of self-discovery. Watch out for a star turn by the young Fanning, who gamely adopts an English accent.

(5) Amour

Winner of this year’s Palm d’Or award, Amour is a riveting, intimate portrayal of unconditional affection and heartfelt warmth that had Cannes audiences sobbing into their Riveria sleeves. Georges (Trintignant) does his best to support his wife Anne (Riva) when she suffers a stroke that leaves her partly paralysed and speechless, clinging onto a love that is fast deteriorating with Anne’s health. Bring tissues.

(6) Seven Psychopaths

In Martin McDonagh’s follow up to the hilariously profane In Bruges, the director re-enlists Colin Farrell to play screenwriter Marty, who accidentally gets entangled in an LA dognapping crime ring, led by his best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken). Expect expletive-laden hijinks from razor-sharp writer McDonagh – and if that isn’t enough to convince you, Tom Waits makes a surprise cameo (but we’re not giving you any hints on this one).

(7) The Hunt

Set in a close-knit community in Denmark, Mads Mikkelsen stars in his Cannes award-winning portrayal of a kindergarten teacher falsely accused of abusing children. As the lie spreads, everyone turns on Lucas in 21st century Crucible-style hysteria. Mikkelsen’s superbly nuanced performance shows that he’s more than just your regular Bond villain.

For more information about films and showtimes, visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff.

Words: Ellen Falconer

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