Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson: At 25 Meter (FACT Commissions)

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) presents At 25 Metres, a stunning series of major new video works by UK artists Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson looking at the complexities of faith in contemporary society. Featuring FACT commissionsThe Fireworks,The Name of GodandTwo Leprechauns,andThe Carriers Prayer, commissioned by Film & Video Umbrella, the exhibition and book continue their interest in the symbolic and transformative potential of fire. Crowe and Rawlinson examine cultural conventions, tensions and misunderstandings, and set against the contemporary climate of international conflict these challenging yet subtle works are particularly pertinent and timely. Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson: At 25 Meters is a vibrant and intriguing book provides a stunning display of their work, including the unrestrained chaos, noise and colour of a fireworks display set off inside a gallery space; plastic shopping bags torn open and tied together to form scally fireworks igniting and whooping up to the heavens in a run-down chapel, and the artists dressed as stereotypical leprechauns exchanging a series of Hebrew and Arabic greetings in cod Oirish accents. Also included is a new essay by Dr Rob Stone (Senior Research Fellow, Middlesex University) providing critical reflection on the themes explored. Since first collaborating in 1994 Crowe and Rawlinsons projects have included Mugger Music, which was first shown in Manchester (1996) and was subsequently remounted for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York (1997); The Happy Dog of Lambeth, City Racing, London (1997) and Project for the River Medlock, commissioned by Artranspennine, Manchester (1998). In 2003 they presented a major solo exhibition, Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson, at Manchester Art Gallery.

Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson have worked together since 1994, when they shared a studio space in Manchester. Their work has been exhibited at: San Francisco MOMA; LMCC, New York; Celeste and Eliot, Zurich; KIASMA, Helsinki; Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul; Fabbricca Del Vapore, Milan; and Chisenhale Gallery, London, and many others.