Press Information
Matt’s Gallery and Dilston Grove present the second in a new series of co-productions Cantata Profana by Matt Stokes.

The exhibition runs parallel with a new commission of work at Matt’s Gallery, Madman in a Lifeboat (1 April–24 May 2015). The presentation of both works across east and south London this spring marks the culmination of Stokes’ year-long Bartlett fellowship*.

Cantata Profana is a six screen video and sound installation focusing on the physicality of extreme metal vocalists and the ability of their voices to immerse a listener and transcend both the individual performer and group.

Cantata Profana takes the form of an amphitheatre of video projections pre- senting a new musical composition, created in partnership with British com- poser Orlando Gough, artist and musician Tim Kerr and six grindcore vocalists. Cantata Profana interweaves extreme metal music culture with clas- sical choral traditions, to create an unexpected union. The intense sounds and body movements of the vocalists, together with the backdrop of the out- dated German Democratic Republic radio studio in which the piece was filmed, all contribute to the atmosphere of this unique and enveloping work.

Stokes’ practice has developed from a long-standing enquiry into events and beliefs that shape people’s lives and identities. Music – its history, sub- cultures and socio-political effects often provides the catalyst for researching and forming collaborative relationships with musicians, writers, actors, com- posers and communities, bringing together their interests, knowledge and skills in potentially conflicting situations. By exploring the resulting ex- changes of ideas, the final outcomes challenge our assumptions and under- standing about specific scenes or chosen ways of living.

The vocalists featured in Cantata Profana include: Anders Bakke (She Said Destroy, Norway), Chris Butterworth (Kastrated, UK), Dente (Rompeprop, Netherlands), Alex Hughes (Hatred Surge, USA), Alex Jockel (Krupskaya, UK), Der Kurt (Paroxysm, Germany).

Matt Stokes (b.1973, Penzance, Cornwall) and has lived, studied and worked in the north east of England since 1993. In 2006, he was the winner of the Beck’s Futures Prize, and in 2012 was shortlisted for the Jarman Award. Recent solo exhibitions include In Absence of the Smoky God, Site Gallery, & Sensoria, Sheffield 2014; Dance Swine Dance, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool 2014; Give to Me the Life I Love, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne & The Whitechapel Gallery, London 2013; Nuestro tiempo/Our Time, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC), Seville, Spain, 2011; Cantata Profana, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, 2011; The Distant Sound, De Hallen, Haarlem, Netherlands, 2011 and No Place Else Better Than Here, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany in 2010.

Matt Stokes is represented by Lüttgen, Cologne, Workplace Gallery, Gateshead and ZieherSmith, New York.

The piece was originally commissioned by Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Germany, produced by Forma Arts with support from De Hallen Haarlem, Netherlands and Arts Council England. It has been exhibited at Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel; De Hallen Haarlem and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.

*Matt Stokes is the first Bartlett Fellow, a new residency-based fellowship established by Fine Art at The University of Newcastle in partnership with Matt’s Gallery.

Dilston Grove is at the south west corner of Southwark Park, London SE16 2UA:
• Phone: 020 7237 1230
• Tube: Canada Water (Jubilee and Overground lines)
• Rail: South Bermondsey and Surrey Quays.
• Buses: 1, 47, 188, 199, 225, 281, C10, P12
• For a map and directions click here.

Matt Stokes, Cantata Profana, Matt’s Gallery at Dilston Grove is supported by Arts Council England, CGP London and Southwark Council.

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Biography
Born 1973 Penzance, Cornwall; Studied 1997 Graduated BA Hons Fine Art, Newcastle University; Lives in and works in Blaydon-on-Tyne and Newcastle upon Tyne Solo Exhibitions 2015 Madman in a Lifeboat, solo show with Matt’s Gallery, London; Objects to See Further, Great North Run Culture Artist in Residence in partnership with Tyne & Wear Museums; 2014 Stone Frigate, temporary commission with Kielder Art and Architecture (completed 2015); In Absence of the Smoky God, Site Gallery and Sensoria, Sheffield; Dance Swine Dance, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; 2013 Give to Me the Life I Love, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne; 2012 Give to Me the Life I Love, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London 2011 Nuestro tiempo/Our Time, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC), Seville, Spain; Cantata Profana, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; Matt Stokes, Workplace Gallery, Gateshead; The Distant Sound, De Hallen, Haarlem, Netherlands; 2010 No Place Else Better Than Here, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany; Voice | Hand | Hammer | Fire, Works Projects, Bristol; Matt Stokes, Wilfried Lentz Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2009 Matt Stokes: these are the days, ZieherSmith, New York, USA; The Gainsborough Packet &c., Zabludowicz Collection, London; The Gainsborough Packet, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; these are the days, Arthouse, Austin, USA; 2008 Real Arcadia, Lüttgenmeijer, Berlin, Germany; 2007 Now is Early, VOID Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland; Long After Tonight, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, USA; [un]promised Land, attitudes espace d'arts contemporains, Geneva, Switzerland; Matt Stokes, ZieherSmith, New York, USA; Lost in the Rhythm, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland; 2006 Pills to Purge Melancholy, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh; Selected Group Exhibitions 2014 Metarave: It’s Only a Fantasy, WallRiss, Fribourg, Switzerland; 2013 Hope Despite The Times, ZieherSmith, New York, USA; Social Sound, VHDG Foundation, Netherlands; OD, One Thoresby Street, Nottingham; Volupté, Sextant &+, Marseille, France; 2012 Stedelijk Off-site, Stedelijk Museum/Trouw Club, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bending the Mirror, Canzani Gallery, Columbus, USA; 2011 A Fire in the Masters House is Set, Chapter, Cardiff; The Big Society, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France; Echoes, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France; 2010 Der Diskrete Charme des Blinden Flecks, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, Germany; Into the Light, Error One, Antwerp, Belgium; Decalogue, Winkleman Gallery, New York, USA; From Ritual to Theatre, Ancient & Modern, London; Outer Body/Inner Experiences, Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, USA; Right Right Now Now, M.1/Arthur Boskamp-Stiftung, Hohenlockstedt, Germany; 2009 Northern Art Prize, Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds; Running Time, Dean Gallery/National Galleries, Edinburgh; Melbourne International Festival, Melbourne, Australia; Independent State, Frome (organised by Foreground Projects); See This Sound, Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria; MARZ Live, MARZ Galeria, Lisbon Portugal; Desiring Necessities, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton; 2008 Single Screen, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany; Deptford X, London; Crossing, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy; I desired what you were, I need what you are, MAZE, Turin, Italy; King Fisher's Tales, UNION, London; 2007 Balance, Galleria 1/9 Unosunove, Rome, Italy; Palinsesti, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy; The Weasel: Pop Music and Contemporary Art, South London Gallery, London; Projection Project II, Mücsarnok-Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary; Screenings, Ocho Y Medio, Quito and Maac Cine, Guayaquil, Ecuador; 2006 The Projection Project, MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium; Street: behind the cliché, Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands; EAST International 06, Norwich Gallery and NSAD, Norwich; Beck’s Futures, ICA, London and off-site venues in Glasgow and Bristol; You Shall Know Our Velocity, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; 2005 Our Surroundings, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Gatsobyter, Plan 9 Artists Space, Bristol; Romantic Detachment, PS1 MOMA, New York, USA and Chapter Gallery, Cardiff; 2004 QSL, FM radio station, MIMA (off-site), Middlesbrough; S1 Salon ‘Cabaret’, S1 Art Space, Sheffield; 2003 Space Between Us, Friar House, Newcastle upon Tyne; Vacant, Reg Vardy Gallery, Sunderland; Spark Video International, Spark Art Space, Syracuse, USA and Forest City Gallery, Ontario, Canada; LUX Open, Royal College of Art, London; 2002 Living Proof, Bewick Court, Newcastle upon Tyne; Memento, Underground stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro system; VideoROM, Gian Carla Zanutti Gallery, Milan and Gallery of Modern Art, Bergamo, Italy; Mostyn 12 Open, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno; 2001 VideoROM, Valencia Biennial, Spain; 2000 ROOT, Hull Time Based Arts, Hull; VANE, ‘00 off-site venue, Newcastle upon Tyne; NOW Festival, off-site venue, Nottingham; 1999 VANE Export, Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden; Field, Hallington, Northumberland; 1998 VANE ‘98, Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne; Selected Commissions, Fellowships and Residencies 2013-14 Bartlett Fellowship, Newcastle University and Matt’s Gallery, London; 2010 The Stratford Gaff, Art on the Underground, Stratford Station, London; 2006 socialspaces, commissioned by the BBC and Arts Council England; Limited edition CD of Sacred Selections, commissioned by Locus+, Newcastle upon Tyne; 2002 Grizedale Arts R&D grant, followed by a residency in Cumbria; Land and the Samling, residency at Kielder Water and Forest Park, Northumberland; 2001 Stretch, video installation commissioned by Sunderland Arts; Allotment, residency at allotments in Wallsend; 2000 Roll-in’ Along, video intervention commissioned by Work & Leisure International, Manchester; Selected Prizes, Shortlists and Awards 2012 Shortlisted for Jaman Award, awarded by Film London; 2009 Shortlisted for Northern Art Prize, awarded by Leeds City Art Gallery; 2006 Beck’s Futures, prize awarded by the ICA and Beck’s; 2003 Art for Architecture, awarded by Royal Society of Arts.

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Bibliography
2014 In Absence of the Smoky God, published by NATCECT. ISBN: 978-0-907426-28-8; 2011 Song as a Force of Social Transformation, published by CAAC. ISSN: 2173-8203; 2009 these are the days, (monograph) published by Arthouse. ISBN: 0-9770627-2-4; The Gainsborough Packet &c., (monograph) published by Zabludowicz Collection. ISBN: 978-0-9556629-5-9; See This Sound, published by Lentos Kunst Museum. ISBN: 978-3-86560-683-9; Collective 1984-2009, published by Collective Gallery. ISBN: 978-3-86896-0335; 2008 Hijack Reality, published by Deptford X. ISBN: 978-0-9547071-2-5; 2007 Lost in the Rhythm, (monograph) published by AEN and Collective Gallery. ISBN: 978-1-873757-56-7; 2006 Beck’s Futures 2006, published by the ICA. ISBN: 1-900300-50-8; EAST International 2006, published by Norwich Gallery. ISBN: 1-872482-80-5.

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