D. Wiafe: 4pm in the Endz
Mark Aitken: Sanctum Ephemeral
Trongate 103, 26 January - 03 March 2019
Talks by Aitken & Wiafe, Shah & Leslie: Sat 26 January, 3.00pm followed by Reception, 4.30pm.
A collaboration between Street Level Photoworks and Photofusion, London sees an exhibition of work by D. Wiafe and Mark Aitken in Glasgow, and work by Arpita Shah and Chris Leslie in London.
D. Wiafe's 4pm In The Endz is a collaborative project created with the young people of Pollards Hill, a housing estate in the borough of Merton. Inspired by a song written by local rapper Teks Sinatra, together with Wiafe, young people from the area explored the turn from day to night and the accompanying suspicion of criminal mischief that falls on the doings of the estates young inhabitants. Made over a six month run of weekly workshops and presented in a mix of video, illustrations and photography, the work questions the role that stigma, hearsay and truth have played in the representation of the area to those who reside within and the community outside.
Mark Aitken's Sanctum Ephemeral explores the theme of home on a South London housing estate.
"I have pressing conversations with neighbours. We shed frustration. The impositions are beyond our control. Proposals beyond comprehension.
There’s nothing wrong with my house. Why do they want to knock it down?
People let me into their homes. I hear stories; gather evidence. Some of it makes sense. Some of it is troubling. The rooms, the memories and the inhabitants reflect each other."
Read an interview with Mark from Photomonitor here
D. Wiafe is an artist and associate lecturer at Coventry and Hertfordshire Universities. Curious about the public perception of inner-city youth, his work has found him immersed in various communities, working alongside teens to present an unseen portrait of the adolescent experience. This has taken him from creating staged tableaux with grime’s early pioneers, to acting as lead photographic mentor on the award-winning youth platform ‘The Cut’. Working across installation, video and publication, he has produced Arts Council funded projects in partnership with Autograph, UAL, Photofusion and the Southbank Centre.
Mark Aitken is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and photographer, radio host and head of a non-profit company that's produced over 40 films. Mark lectured film practice at Goldsmiths for 11 years and continues to teach at Central St Martins. Mark holds a PhD by Publication entitled Emotional truth in documentary making from Goldsmiths and is based in London and Barcelona.
Banner Image: © Clement Takyi / D. Wiafe
Left Image: © Mark Aitken
