"Sea Horses" is broadcast on SBS ONE'S Television, Australia, on June 30, 2012 at 5.30pm, local time.
Today July 27th, at the Dray Walk Gallery (the Old Truman Brewery) in the heart of London, Fabrica presents Doping Thrower, an art installation devised and executed by the Cuban artist Erik Ravelo. The sculpture was inspired by the Discobolus (the discus thrower), the famous statue by Myron, from around 445 B.C., which is a symbol of the passion for the Olympic Games and of the cult of human physical perfection. The Doping Thrower is completely smothered in hundreds of multicolour capsules, phials and tablets and even a drip feed. It invites us to reflect on the habit of using and abusing drug-based substances and treatments to improve an athlete’s performance by artificial means. It should also be seen as a criticism of the anti-doping system which often, in the name of economic power, does fully not safeguard the health of athletes. This deviation from the concept of fair play is unsportsmanlike and dangerously widespread amongst young amateur or occasional athletes who take seriously health-threatening drugs despite having a perfectly healthy body. The installation can be seen until 6 August.
With Doping Thrower, Fabrica continues its longstanding commitment to socially active creativity based on the conviction that communication, in all its applications, must be a tool for conscious social change. Over the years Fabrica has developed numerous social awareness projects in association with major non-profit organisations, including the U.N., Reporters Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation (WHO), not forgetting its work through COLORS magazine. Most recently, Fabrica has produced a global anti-smoking campaign for WHO, launched on 31 May for World No Tobacco Day 2012, and the Turn Your World Around communication project dealing with sustainability, which was produced for the United Nations and presented in occasion of Rio+20, the World Conference on Sustainable Development recently held in Rio de Janeiro. On 10 July 2012 Teachers Without Borders (TWB), a non-profit organisation working in international education and teacher professional development, presented its new logo devised by the young designers at Fabrica.
Doping Thrower
27 July – 6 August
11am – 7pm
Dray Walk Gallery
91 Brick Lane
Old Truman Brewery
London E1 6QL
More information:
Angela Quintavalle
ph: +39 0422 516209
e-mail: angie@fabrica.it
FABRICA IN OFFICIAL COMPETITION AT THE LAGO FILM FEST WITH THE SHORT DOCUMENTARY NOT TO BE
Presented in international premiere
Treviso, July 13th, 2012. Fabrica, Benetton Group Media and Communication Research Centre, announces the participation of its recent production, Not to Be, in the official selection at the eight edition of Lago Film Fest, International Festival of Short Films, Documentaries and Screenplays and testing ground for art in its many facets, that is taking place in the historical village of Revine Lago, in Treviso area, from July 20th to 28th, 2012.
Not to Be is a short documentary investigating the concept of life, death and personal identity. Through the interpretation of a scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet a group of very young would-be actors are faced with the theme of death.
How these young boys interpret Hamlet’s material? Have they thought about topics surrounding death? Grief? Suicide? All feelings Hamlet is struggling to come to terms with in the play. Have they experienced grief on a personal level? How does this then affect their performance? As declared by Chelsea McMullan: ″I (from a position off camera) attempted to initiate a dialogue and re-direct their performances. These conversations, the presence of a camera, and unstagged interactions with “the director”, inevitably brings honesty to the performance and change the pre-conceptions of such a notorious work“.
The documentary has been entirely produced by Fabrica e directed by Chelsea McMullan, a young Canadian resident of the Video area of Fabrica, author of several documentaries and experimental videos. Among them, Deragliamenti, produced by Fabrica, a short meditative documentary that tells of Milo Manara’s experience and joint work with Federico Fellini to transform the screenplay of the film Il Viaggio di Mastorna detto Fernet into a comic strip.
Deragliamenti participated in competition at several international film festivals and was nominated for a Genie Awards (the Canadian Oscars) for Best Short Doc.
NOT TO BE trailer: http://www.fabrica.it/project/not-be
SCREENINGS:
Sunday July 22nd, at 9.00pm - Lido
Monday, July 23rd at 4.00pm - Salone della comunità
Tuesday, July 24th at 10.30pm - Cortile Carlettin
From the 19th of July to the 21st of October 2012, as part of the Dutch Design Week, Fabrica, the communication research center of the Benetton Group, will be at &Foam in Amsterdam with Still Lights, a collection of 7 pieces drawing inspiration from the fundamental principles of photography. The exhibition is sponsored by United Colors of Benetton and Foam.
Each project, which can be a piece of furniture, an object or an installation, is composed of three elements: a frame, a subject and a light source. Delving into the technical world of photography, these projects touch on filtering, reflection, balance and projection to create a series of surrealistic pieces that situate themselves somewhere between a still life image and an object. Each member of the international team of young designers hosted at Fabrica will cast light on the subject, composing an image referencing personal and local culture.
Among the projects, Light Drawer, a commode with a light structure embedded within the drawer: the behavior of the light mimics the movement of the drawer, sliding and illuminating the illustrated paper within; Ongoing Table, a central table that generates its interactive table-top pattern depending on the actions and environment that surround the piece, creating a dialogue between content and context; On Display, a wooden cabinet with laser cut metal doors. Camouflaged in an optical illusion behind the doors, there is a collection of 12 plates that, when the cabinet is closed, create a mysteriously sober still life scene. When the doors open, a new perspective is revealed.
FOAM, photography museum Amsterdam is located on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. A varied programme of exhibitions including world-famous photographers as well as young or undiscovered talent is scheduled. Large-scale exhibitions alternate with small, quickly changing shows. &Foam, the concept store and gallery of Foam, is located at the Vijzelstraat 78 and offers a wide selection of extraordinary new and vintage photo books, limited edition prints, magazines, posters, cards and gifts. Each quarter year, &Foam engages in unexpected new collaborations with unique partners working on the interface between photography and other artistic mediums.
Still Lights
19 July – 21 October 2012
&Foam
Vijzelstraat 78
1017 HL Amsterdam
www.foam.org/andfoam
T +31 (0)20 7600489
