Policeline 2003
Stephen Gunning
November 30 – December 19, 2003

Irish filmmaker and media artist Stephen Gunning exhibited his video installation <em>Policeline 2003</em> in 911′s front windows from November 30 – December 19, 2003. Organized long-distance via e-mail, we were pleased to present an exhibition that serendipitously coincided with the FTAA riots in Miami, as well as the anniversary of the WTO “Battle in Seattle.”
“My work revolves around social issues such as the individual’s relationship with society. The work deals with how we inhabit urban situations. The relationship between the public, the social confrontation and urban disengagement that takes place, in which the relationship itself is the artwork.

Policeline 2003, which was filmed outside the American Embassy in Athens, depicts the ‘daytime’ singularly humanized policeline folding into the center and meeting the homogenized mechanical military arm of the night. I am fascinated by the relationship of people to space, how carefully selected framed and timed sequences can have resonance that outweighs those of the actual situation. Careful editing of the recorded image can reveal the unconscious, or indeed the political within the world of appearances. Site is a vital element to the work, which in fact, dictates the nature of the work both practically and conceptually. The qualities exploited in the media are calculated to appeal to the viewers own associations. The viewer brings his or her own subjective histories to the work, thereby completing it.” -Stephen Gunning

Filmmaker and media artist Stephen Gunning lives in Dublin, Ireland. His work has been shown throughout Europe, including exhibitions at: The National Gallery, Dublin; Permaculture : Project, Dublin; Fernwarme : Hellersdorf – Berlin; and the ATP Gallery in London.