Female Creators Celebrate International Women's Month at Outernet
In celebration of International Women’s Month, we’ve invited female creators to showcase their work at Outernet. A diverse collection of female artists will display their unique works across the Outernet London screens making use of our state-of-the-art technology and immense scale.
Art Block by Maliha Abidi showing this week at The Now Building
From 1st March, and showing twice an hour from 9am, Everything We Touch by artist Paula Zuccotti presents individual stories told through a single large-scale photograph displaying every single item a person touches in a day, in chronological order from dawn to dusk. From a toddler in Tokyo, to a cloistered nun in Madrid, to a cowboy in Arizona, to a puppeteer in Shanghai, Paula Zuccotti travelled the world photographing the physical footprint of friends and complete strangers.
The accompanying Future Archeology short film unveils the story of her subjects challenging us to imagine what future generations will discover about our habits, needs and desires when they observe and decode our essential everyday objects.
Paula Zuccotti said:
“Imagine how your photograph would look if I captured everything that you touched in one day. From smartphone to soap, from spice to spoon... What would that say about you, about your life and about our society? Archaeologically found artifacts have taught us everything we know about past civilisations. They reveal how societies lived, worked, played, cooked and expressed themselves. Our artifacts are here to tell our story, this is a time capsule of our lives."
"I’m excited about the scale the Outernet offers with regards to inclusivity and format. As a venue open to the public, it makes my work accessible to everyone, in particular those curious minds who will discover it as they walk past. The display of my photographs is larger than a billboard and in such high definition celebrates the beauty of our everyday objects and the craft and quality involved in the making process. As a multimedia platform it allows my work to come to life and immerse the viewer in the story through the juxtaposition of photography and film. As an Argentine-born Londoner, I’m thrilled to see Every Thing We Touch presented in the hub of the city I call home.”
To celebrate International Women’s Day on the 8th March, Outernet launched Faces Of Womanhood in collaboration with Take More Photos. 'Faces of Womanhood' is an audio-visual exhibit showcasing the diverse backgrounds that have shaped the female contributors, highlighting their impact and significance within the TMP creative community. It is a tribute to women’s decisive role in shaping the creative industry and serves as a source of inspiration to all.
More programme highlights
March 19th - 7th May
Outernet Arts Presents: Spaghetti Blockchain by artist Mika Rottenberg
Spaghetti Blockchain is a collage of imagery whirlpooling through an over-stimulated thought-process. The viewer traverses through footage of colourful ‘satisfying’ ASMR performances, Siberian Tuvan throat singers in open fields, the CERN antimatter factory, a mechanical harvester on an all-American potato farm, cut with dizzying rotating hexagons. The screens and space are filled with overwhelming colour, constant movement, ear-tickling effervescence, and the deep singing tones. Calling back to Rottenbergs previous critiques of consumerism, here the viewer finds themselves in a sensory equivalent of eating everything on the table until they can’t stand straight; simultaneously euphoric and queasy.
The LA Times said:
“You don’t watch a video by Mika Rottenberg so much as you absorb it through all of your senses.”
March 29th - Art Block by artist Maliha Abidi
The work of Pakistani-American author and visual artist Maliha Abidi focuses on advocating for social justice including women’s rights, gender equality, girls' education, and sharing stories from marginalsed communities. Using bright and bold colours, Maliha hopes to get people interested in complex issues that impact our societies.
In an animation titled “Art block”, Abidi explores the state of an artist during burn out due to being stuck in a cycle of creating ART for the algorithm and not creating simply because an artist wants to. This speaks about the online engagement cycle that makes creatives feel that they have put content or artwork out there to stay relevant. This takes away from the creative process of an artist and pressures them to produce work that doesn’t speak to their soul.
Maliha is also the founder and creator of Women Rise NFT, a Web 3.0 initiative with the focus on women’s rights and girls’ education through using art as a tool for advocacy. Maliha’s work includes illustrations, animations, NFT art and illustrated books.
“Come for the art, stay for the cause.” - Maliha Abidi.
March 22nd - Huck Magazine: Shiny Tiny
Huck's film tells the story of the fierce pioneers of Lebanon’s first female roller derby team. The documentary details the arrival of roller derby in Beirut, and the pioneering women utilising it to architect a new future. The level of risk-taking, assertiveness and positivity demanded by the sport, as well as the need to get back up after being violently slammed to the floor provides wider learnings and life lessons for the communities it touches.
Alexandra Payne, Head of Creative at Outernet, said:
“It is a privilege to provide a platform for these incredible creators, so that they may share their stories and creativity with our audiences at Outernet London to mark International Women’s Month. We have a unique opportunity to showcase diverse voices and culturally important work on the most advanced immersive screens in the world. Thank you to all the artists and creatives who have worked with us to make that happen.”
