Benjamin Tiven: A Third Version of the Imaginary

On view 1 – 30 June 2014

A Third Version of the Imaginary traces an encounter with the video and film library of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation in Nairobi. We follow the station's librarian through tightly-packed shelves of video cassettes: he is searching for a specific image, and must sift through the identifying paperwork from a number of tapes. As he methodically moves among the stacks, a Swahili voice-over speaks about the arrival of video technology in Kenya and its impact on the archiving of television images: video may have cheapened production, but its material expense put pressure on storage. Later, the librarian converts a basement storage closet into a makeshift cinema, to screen some 16mm film material. The voice-over shifts accordingly, moving from video to film, and to the linguistic problem posed by the very word image in Swahili. A visual and narrative echo chamber, this video addresses video's address of film: the material facts of these media become the aesthetic facts of the work.

Benjamin Tiven lives and works in New York, NY. Completed the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program in 2012. Recent group exhibitions: Henningsen Gallery, Copenhagen;  Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster; Charlottenborg Kunsthal, Copenhagen; Bronx Museum of Art, Bronx, NY; Vivo Media Arts Center, Vancouver; Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Recent screenings: Courtisane, Ghent, BE; IFFRotterdam; Arsenal Cinema, Berlin; FIDMarseille; Oberhausen Short Film Festival; Viennale Festival, Vienna; Images Festival, Toronto. Recent contributions to Triple Canopy, Roulotte Magazine, Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art, Bidoun, and Bulletins of the Serving Library.