Maggie Roberts & Larry Achiampong – Contextual Practice

4D Contextual Practice Research:

https://www.imagemusictext.com/exhibitions/maggie-roberts-becoming-octopus
https://www.larryachiampong.co.uk/

What interests you about these two videos works?

Maggie Roberts’ video completely mesmerised me. I found it simultaneously amusing and genuinely interesting. There is a sense of complete ridiculousness to it; I see it as completely absurd, yet she speaks with a completely straight face the entire time. I didn’t hear one giggle, one falter in her relaxed tone of voice. This adds to the absurdity of it all. She acts as if the notion of turning into an octopus is completely typical behaviour. The visuals were also fascinating. She starts with a very simple pulsating animation, to aid in breathing correctly for mediation. The following clips of underwater scenery become slowly more abstracted, more intangible, more like how an octopus may perceive the universe. It is an interesting progression.

Larry Achiampong’s video was less ridiculous than Roberts’; it had a far more serious tone. The visuals were less vibrant, and the whole thing took place in the real world, in the harsh reality of the society we live in. His was a social commentary. I found myself more capable of listening to his audio than I did Roberts’, as I was genuinely interested in what he had to say. There was not that level of absurdity distracting me from the message of his work. The message became immediately obvious to me; I really liked how he described cleaners and other working-class people as ‘the people of the twilight.’ It gives me this image of the shame that often surrounds the occupation of being a cleaner. As if they can only come out at night when all the rich people have gone. There is a sort of seedy back-door connotation to this description.

What ideas or concerns are the artists exploring in their work?

Maggie Roberts explored this idea of transcending into an unfamiliar body, a body that is both not your own and inhuman. Although she can have no true idea of what it feels like to be an octopus, and what an octopus sees, she really is capable of bringing us into an octopus’ world, where everything you touch feels like a part of you, where colours melt and touch becomes your most important sense. It is interesting how a simple combination of video and audio can completely transport you into another world. The work feels like hypnotisation.

Larry Achiampong is commenting on the disparity between the upper and the working class. He details the experience of someone living in poverty, someone who cannot afford new clothes, someone who does not have a nuclear family. He comments on how working-class work is looked down on. He comments on how the more privileged in society do not even see it as an option. They would never stoop so low. There is an emphasis on cleaners, due to the nature of the video element of this piece.

The videos share some common themes but feel very different. Can you describe this difference?

My initial thoughts are that Roberts’ video is about becoming and octopus, whereas Achiampong’s video speaks about poverty within a marginalised community. These are two drastically different topics. One video is very light-hearted and absurd, whereas the other is serious, and sends a message.

Visually, Robert’s video is very bright and colourful, taking place in an ethereal world, whereas Achiampong’s video is duller, more realistic. The colours are less vivid.

What concerns or ideas do they have in common?

There are almost no visual links or topical links between the two videos. I see them as vastly different. However, within both videos, I can see a narrative, a story. You get a glimpse into someone (or something) else’s world. The meanings of the videos are very explicit in both cases, it is very obvious what each artist is trying to talk about.

What technologies or media have the artists used?

Achiampong seems to have used a device such as a mobile phone to film his entire video. There is a sense of it being quite amateur, not filmed using professional equipment. This aids the message about poverty that he is trying to convey in his video. There is something make-do about his use of equipment, it suggests that he has no options with what equipment he uses, that he simply uses what he has. The props were also rather basic: he used cleaning supplies that could easily be sourced, and pre-existing spaces.

He also frequently uses a layered audio, with lots of different voices saying the same thing. I feel this gives his message more power. He is emphasising that so many people experience poverty and that everyone is equally tired of it. It makes me think of Labour’s motto, ‘For the many, not the few.’

Maggie Roberts’ video is of a very different style. There are animations and effects in it, as well as just live footage. She frequently overlays a rather informal video of herself speaking on top of a pulsating animation in the background. The beginning of the meditation uses video footage of underwater scenery but progresses into more abstract animations. Some of these animations feel as if they could trigger someone’s epilepsy. They are vivid, colourful, and aim to convey the point of view of an octopus. Somehow, they work.

Research

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