Citational Choices takes La Trobe University’s Etta Hirsh Ceramics Collection as its point of departure. The exhibition combines ceramics with archival material, moving image, sculpture and exhibition design. Together, these elements unravel the biographical stories present within the collection itself—those of Etta Hirsh, of a local art scene, of La Trobe Art Institute, and now, in the case of this exhibition, everyone newly involved. Through contemporary works which engage with personal and material archives, the exhibition pays particular attention to the stories – the anecdotal and the informal ones—that don’t often make it onto the record. Artists include Anna Daučíková, Luke Fowler, Gail Hastings, Rita Keegan and the Rita Keegan Archive Project. Exhibition design in collaboration with Maud Vervenne. Curated by Isabelle Sully.

Edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones, Beatrix Ruf. Texts by Will Bradley, Stuart Comer.

A central figure in Glasgow’s vibrant art scene, Luke Fowler’s cinematic collages break down conventional approaches to biographical and documentary filmmaking. Fowler’s films have often been linked to British Free Cinema, the distinctive aesthetic of which came out of a conscious decision to engage with the reality of contemporary Britain in the 1950s. Avoiding didactic voice-over commentaries and narrative continuity, Fowler similarly uses impressionistic sound and editing. However, Fowler moves beyond simply referencing the work of his predecessors. Intuitively applying the logic, aesthetics, and politics of his subjects onto the film he is making about them, he creates atmospheric, sampled histories that reverberate with the vitality of the people he studies.

This companion publication to Luke Fowler’s film of the same name features essays by architecture critic and cultural commentator Owen Hatherley and historian Tom Steele.

Lending additional context to Fowler’s study of the activist/historian E.P. Thompson, it brings further illuminating insights to Thompson’s life and times, and his lingering influence as a champion of workers’ education. Evoking the design of a Workers Educational Association textbook from a similar era, this illustrated pocket-sized publication acts as a resonant echo of Fowler’s work.

A trailer for the film can be seen here.