SLIDE/TAPE

Artists: Black Audio Film Collective, Ian Breakwell, Nina Danino, Bill Furlong, Sunil Gupta, Tina Keane and Cordelia Swann.

The SLIDE/TAPE exhibition offered a fresh appraisal of an abandoned medium. Primarily associated with expanded cinema practice in the 1970s-80s, slide-tape installation expanded definitions of sculpture through setting out a dialogue between still image, sound and the physical presence of the media apparatus.

At a basic level, a slide-tape is a series of projected photographic slides with a synchronized audiotape soundtrack. As a technology, it is significant in the UK for being used by a number of key and emerging artists for a brief period in the 1970s-80s before being abandoned in favour of video and emerging alternative technologies. This exhibition aimed to acknowledge the importance of slide-tape in the field of moving image media.

SLIDE/TAPE re-staged key works in the original format and drew a little seen practice out from the margins of British art history. During the exhibition we hosted some fascinating discussions on the slide-tape text, plus offered a participatory residency as part of the Discovery Season at the internationally acclaimed Library of Birmingham with artist Cathy Wade from 15-20 October.

SLIDE/TAPE was presented in association with Loughborough University, who exhibited works by Ian Breakwell and Tina Keane between 4-15 November, and hosted a symposium on 6 November. Speakers included Michael Archer, Nina Danino, Katy Deepwell, Paul Goodwin, Keith Piper and Cordelia Swann.

The exhibition was co-curated by Yasmeen Baig-Clifford, Director of Vivid Projects and Dr. Mo White, School of Arts, Loughborough University.