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Shelter is both a photographic work and a video, sourced from the same set of 35mm photographs taken by the artist in 1996 
Above: Shelter 1996. C-Print photographic edition 140x90cm
Based on a set of photographs taken in 1996 at a concert by the 'Krishna core' band Shelter in London. Concert photography is often from the position of non-participation and the band is normally the main subject. In this work however, the band is omitted and the photographer is instead immersed in the audience, being pushed and moved around by the energy of the mosh. The fleeting images of the fans' paroxysms are interspersed with images of the empty stage, featuring the instruments and equipment of performance. In spite of the appearance of violence, the chaotic physicality of the mosh-pit actually conceals a codified camaraderie, or 'love'. This paradox is also explicit in the notion of the band's ethos, being Hare Krishna devotees and promoting peace, whilst engaging in 'hard core' music. The anti-egoistic preoccupations of the band are reflected by their absence in the work. The video version was produced with computer screen-saver software, which automatically zooms, pans and cross-fades the photographs. The soundtrack is by Sonofapup. Screened in 2004 at London's National Film Theatre in 'Artist's Films on Music Culture', alongside Dan Graham's 'Rock my Religion', Shelter was remastered in HD in 2018 and exhibited at Ikon Gallery and Supersonic Festival, both in Birmingham UK Below: Shelter video, 1988 - 3:28 mins |