Press release
Liam Gillick & Gabriel Kuri
Everyday holiday
28 April – 14 July 1996
EVERYDAY HOLIDAY
“Some art projects require acknowledgement of
the potential of pleasure combined with an understanding of the importance of
seeking new ways to pass the time. Examining the way we occupy blocks of time
in relation to our normal perception of how to receive and respond to art work.
Philippe Parreno has, in the past, organized a special party/promotion/event
in Dijon. With «Everyday
Holiday» we are more interested to look at longer period and to create
the structural core that might allow the kind of precise activity indicated
by Parreno, and artists like him, to gain a framework for future development.
It is therefore important for us to provide a complimentary perspective on
the occupation of time. There are no rules for behaviour here, just the provision
of some thought and some research. We are not offering a specific set of rules
or just hoping to introduce some temporarily art-like structures into an exhibition
space, rather, we are concerned to recognize the public role of the Magasin
and to use its facilities in order to provide some potential activity that
exists in the form of exchange rather than the offering up of some specific
objects or social observations for consideration.
So we have outlined a number
of quality moments held within the structure of series of holiday/celebrations.
Offering the main central space of Le Magasin as a site for various groups
and individuals to come together and use the place for their own purposes.
The creation of a parallel calendar of events, special days that allow a reconsideration
of how we commemorate, celebrate and codify.
We have proposed a basic physical
framework, which should allow convivial use of the space. This framework has
been provided in close collaboration with Le Magasin. We have supervised and
produced the project rather than constructed it. However, the key part of this
work is the allocation of the dates involved as special “Everyday Holidays“.
In order to do this effectively, we needed some information from the city about
existing events including Saint's days and weeks that are set aside to promote
one thing or another. We reacted to this calendar, amended and added to it.
There is a physical presence in the gallery providing certain key elements,
all of this supplemented by a large panel which shows all the different special
days and a space for information about what is happening “today“.
In addition, special days that are specific to Le Magasin will be commemorated,
for example, good exhibitions, birthdays and celebrations.
“Everyday Holiday“ is
an opportunity to reflect on what has happened and to think about what could
be. Maybe these special everydays could become part of a yearly cycle. Always
present in the collective consciousness of the place. And always available
as a point of access for others into the social, political and organizational
structure of Le Magasin.”
Liam Gillick & Gabriel Kuri April 1996
Liam Gillick, born
in 1964, works and lives in London.
Gabriel Kuri, born in 1970
in Mexico City, lives and works in London.