David Theobald

b. 1965, England

Today, location is not so much defined by geography, but by our position within the complex web of processes that make up contemporary society. My work attempts to capture such a situation, caught in a perpetual state of transit where increasing complexity is often presented as the illusion of ‘progress’. As the global economy lurches towards an uncertain future, these complex connections that form the basis of day-to-day existence seem ever more evident and ever more precarious.

The looping nature of my work and the subject matter mirror the structure of the underlying technology used in its creation and the repetitive processes that seem central to the infrastructure of contemporary society. Working with video inevitably raises questions about mediation in modern society and the seemingly endless pursuit of much digital animation and game technology towards ever more spectacular optical effects, the spectator held in thrall of the screen. In contrast, the use of a restricted viewpoint, repetition, mundane subject matter and flat narrative in my work seem more likely to generate feelings of futility, frustration and, perhaps, humour, which in some cases might give way to a deeper contemplation of the systems in which we live.

(Text: e v+ a – matters catalogue, 2010)