History is Written by the Winners (Risograph Publication)

Gubb, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2412-7412 and Davies, N. (2014) History is Written by the Winners (Risograph Publication). Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, UK.

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Abstract

This was a risograph publication that acted as a contextual document alongside the exhibition, 'History is Written by the Winners' made in the style of a sketch/exercise book, it acted as a receptacle for research around the artworks, as opposed to documentation or discussion of the artworks themselves. It was a creative collaboration between myself and the artist Nick Davies.

The exhibition included new works in sculpture, video, sound, installation and photography, reflecting on a series of historic episodes of political and cultural turmoil, re-interpreting them through the lens of popular culture. The show’s title refers to a phrase often (mis)attributed to Churchill, but for which there is little actual evidence that he coined, and was also used as the title of a video work in the show that paired the audio track from the UK’s ‘funniest ever TV moment’, where Del-boy falls through the bar at his local boozer, with the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue during the last war with Iraq. Quickly adopted as shorthand for the ‘liberation’ of Baghdad, the iconic footage is now indicative of a more complicated revision of recent history. The thread of implied violence that ran throughout was balanced with a dark humour with references to pot noodles, classic TV comedy, literature and rock music.

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