SANFORD BIGGERS / Notions    Feb 10 - Mar 18, 2006

Drawing from a diverse range of sources - including Eastern spiritualism, black vernacular expression, 1970s process art, urban culture, and technology, Biggers' work seamlessly blends contemporary hip-hop expressions with the ancient principles of Buddhism.

Among the works in the show will be the installation / video piece ‘Network: A Remix’ inspired by the 1976 Sidney Lumet directed movie ‘Network’: a satirical film about a fictional television network named Union Broadcasting System (UBS) and it’s struggle with poor ratings. In the film a veteran news anchorman at UBS finds out he is to be fired and goes on-air to announce this along with his intent to commit suicide during his final broadcast. This and his subsequent on-air ranting cause ratings to skyrocket, which in turn is exploited by the network. Biggers has re-created three sets from the film and installed them to appear as if the viewer is ‘backstage’ or in the Network studio where the accompanying video was shot. The video contains re-enactments of key scenes from the film through which he transforms a 20th Century cultural relic into a timeless message that resonates with our own contemporary existence. ‘Network: A Remix’ was first commissioned by Triple Candie, Harlem NY in 2005.

In ‘Calenda’, configurations of footprints or what the dance world calls ‘dance notation’ are spread across the floor and walls of a corner of the gallery following the patterns of the Hustle and Disco Tango. ‘Calenda’ makes reference to a dance that slaves adopted and which was initially perceived by their masters as both entertainment and a form of exercise. But it transpired that there were deeper and more subversive thoughts being expressed by their workforce, namely methods of escape. Distorting and abstracting the footprints on the walls into swirling formations Biggers moves to rehabilitate their meaning from frivolous disco steps by depicting them in constellation patterns. As a traditional spiritual reminded the escapees: "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd", an Africanized reference to an asterism within the constellation Ursa Major, or the ‘Big Dipper.’ Two stars in its bowl point to Polaris - the North Star, and for the slaves, freedom via the Underground Railroad.