Better Than the Real Thing?
an exhibition-in-progress and an invitation to copy, sample, manipulate and re-interpret

Curated by Regina Gleeson
Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl, Enda O’Donoghue, Martin Shannon, Jürgen Simpson and You!

1 June– 22 July 2006
Preview 1 June 6-8pm

Four is pleased to present Better Than the Real Thing?, an exhibition-in-progress that enables endless reinterpretation of ideas by sidestepping the creative limitations of copyright. Exhibited in Four Gallery as well as online, each of four original artworks by Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl, Enda O’Donoghue, Martin Shannon and Jürgen Simpson explores separate aspects of reproduction and re-telling of a story and each work discloses different information about the mark of authenticity in art of the present day.

Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl's interactive media installation, Mechanism No. 1: War, draws inspiration from the re-telling of war in the news media and unsettles the passive absorption of the images of war as the backing track to our lives. Enda O'Donoghue's labour-intensive Gone 410 painting is involved with the subtle translations of images from one circumstance to another while Martin Shannon's photographic image, Self-portrait as Amanda Coogan as David with Cattle lightens the weight of art historical iconography. Similar to Shannon’s dialogue across five centuries of art history, Jürgen Simpson’s installation takes its point of departure from music of the sixteenth century. His work deconstructs the musical spectrum of a piece of sixteenth century music only to reconstruct it as a new work in a new context. On June 1st, Jürgen Simpson’s not-to-be-missed live performance delights in the high art of mass culture through the soundscape of twentieth century cartoons. Each of the above mentioned works are of the highest standard in their own right but become even more dynamic by their openness to re-interpretation and their creative integrity in existing outside of the tight aura of reverence to the artist’s signature.

You are invite to come and experience the artwork in the gallery or online. Feel free to use your camera, camera-phone, minidisk recorder, video camera, sketchbook or whatever recording device you like to make a record of any or all of these works of art. You can then submit your own considered re-interpretation of these un-copyrighted works as well as other subsequent re-interpretations from other artists. These second, third and fourth generation works will be exhibited in digital format on www.betterthantherealthing.info and in Four gallery.

Better Than the Real Thing? is supported by Circa magazine, Interface Belfast, Visual Artists Ireland and Letshost.ie

Gallery hours are: Saturday 1pm–6pm & by appointment.
For further details please contact Lee Welch on +353 (0) 86 365 1256

Press Photos (300dpi) | 1

All press images : Mechanism No. 1: War, Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl, Interactive installation, Detail, 2003, Courtesy of the artist.