FACT has always been more than just a cinema to the people of Liverpool for those who venture into the cultural hub of Merseyside. In the ten years since it opened, it has housed some of the most impressive, provocative and inspiring art and shown off with great pleasure some of the great artists as well as being a major contributor to the city and its people and showing some of the great films of the last decade and beyond.
Now ten years on, a new ground-breaking, quite literally in one piece, art installation has taken root as FACT turns itself Inside Out and showcases some of the most pressing and controversial issues of the day within its hallowed building.
Until the August Bank Holiday weekend, FACT will be exploring issues situations of the environment, architecture, whether Capitalism works or not, the process of augmented reality and the colossal task of recreating an indoor fracking site complete with Earth tremors and flames. Seeing this particular piece up close brings home the pros and cons of the process perfectly and needs to be experienced to be believed.
FACT has always been at the forefront of new and exciting projects and this artist’s take over commissioned by FACT has all the hall marks of being the most stimulating and thought-provoking of them all.
Besides FACT turning their main gallery into an industrial landscape in their new piece Fracking Futures which is a proactive commentary on the crisis of global economy, acclaimed Polish artist Katarzyna Krakowiak has turned the building into a huge listening device in one of the upstairs studios. The sounds which go unnoticed in the building are captured in this working space and are an eerie snapshot of life and its various echoes.
Also American Artist Steve Lambert will bring his work Capitalism Works for Me! True/False to the U.K. for the first time. The interactive signage will be installed outside of FACT on Ropewalks Square and the public will encouraged to vote true or false in response to the question.
Mike Stubbs, director of FACT and co-curator of Turning FACT Inside Out said, “This exhibition is a continuation of our celebrations to mark the tenth anniversary of the FACT building. It will be proactive and it will ask some big questions, once again showcasing our commitment to making FACT a safe place for risky conversations.”
Other artists on show are Tamiko Thiel and Will Pappenheimer with Biomer Skelters, Diminished City by Mark Skwarek and Animesh Anand, Human Conference Sensors by Sander Veenhof and John Cleater with his work I Must Be Seeing Things.
This is one event not to miss, a series of magnificent installations that will no doubt further enhance the high reputation FACT has in the city of Liverpool and further afield.
Turning FACT Inside Out opened on Thursday 13th June and runs till the 25th August.
Ian D. Hall