artists: Guyan Porter and Will Foster
guest artist: Banu Cennetoglu
venue: Akbank Art Center
coordinates: Istanbul, 2010
website: http://subjecttochangewithoutnoticeproject.blogspot.com
In SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE*, Will Foster and Guyan Porter investigate the phenomena of Small print*. Spaces are temporarily transformed into publicly accessible centres for researching, reconsidering and re-presenting the enormity of small print and ambiguous text that floods contemporary society.
The project took place on the 10,11,13,14 of December 2010 at Akbank, Istanbul, working with curator Basak Senova
and artist Banu Cennetoglu. SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE* continued its reinvention of new environments, further providing platforms for participation and dialogue, by inviting others to explore the complex subject of ‘small print’- an element of media and institutional output that is ever present yet often overlooked.
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE* aims to confront, challenge, deneutralise, magnify and make visible those tiny little sentences that could be detrimental to your expectations as a consumer, and your rights as a citizen.
*‘Small print – noun.
1 printed matter in small type.
2 inconspicuous but binding details or conditions printed in an agreement,
advertisement or contract.’
Oxford English Dictionary, 2009
Workstation 1 – FREE LUNCH INTERNATIONAL
Free Lunch International explored the phrase ‘There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch’ (TINSTAAFL) by creating a network of international interpretation. Over the past months the artists have begun a catalogue of international dialogue, asking people throughout the world to translate the phrase into other languages and contribute proverbs that are used to express a similar awareness towards deception or hidden costs. In the Akbank workshop the artists ask guests to contribute further to the catalogue and at the same time to look at different approaches to archiving and representing this material.
Workstation 2 – FREE TAKING
Guests were invited to interpret the Free Lunch International submissions through graphic design and play. Graphic examples by the artists will be present.
Workstation 3 – THE FORUM
The artists along with curator Basak Senova and invited guests will investigate the phenomena of Small print through a process of interdisciplinary dialogue and activity The aim will be to collaboratively experiment with creative approaches, bringing transparency to the phenomena of small print. This convergence were recorded and mapped at Akbank and online, creating a constantly expanding document of the days activity. These activitiesl formed the the setting for an interview between Basak Senova and guest artist Banu Cennetoglu on the 13th.
Workstation 4 – TOWN CRIER
Every hour, on the hour, a pronouncement was made reading from a chapter of Contractual Small Print ‘Bringing the unfamiliar word to the ears of the layman.’
Workstation 5 – SMALL IN PRINT OUT
The ‘in and out tray’ illustrated a simple office system. At the tables therewere small print examples and contributions. The in tray was filled and dealt with each day through a process of collaborative editing. In the act of making small print bigger the material can be re-imagined, re-designed, re-presented and re-published.
Workstation 6 – AUDIO BOOTH
The audio booth offered a solitary space where personal accounts and recollections are spoken and recorded. Each day a different task was given.