As the title Borrowed Time suggests, the resulting works reflect on the uncertain nature of our contemporary economic and ecological moment, while also alluding to wider historical patterns and elemental forces. Never has there been a time, perhaps, where we have borrowed so much against the future economically - from the loans and mortgages of domestic realities to the sophisticated economics of financial derivatives. And never has there been a moment, perhaps, where that feeling of living on borrowed time, of a clock ticking louder and louder, has reverberated so ominously ecologically.
Kramer and Williams both submitted bold proposals to the 2016 curatorial theme that are, by chance, both centred around power stations. FVU is working closely with the artists, overseeing the development of the films over the 10-month production period.
The two winning artists were selected from a shortlist of five, chosen from over 250 applications by a panel comprising: Steven Bode, Director of Film and Video Umbrella; Shonagh Manson, Director of Jerwood Charitable Foundation; Francis McKee, Director of CCA, Glasgow; Marianna Simnett, winner of the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2015; and Sam Thorne, Artistic Director of Tate St Ives who takes over as Director of Nottingham Contemporary in 2016.
On the selection process, panellist Sam Thorne commented:
“I was thrilled to be on the selection panel for the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2016. The submitted work was as strong as it was varied. It made me excited for the future of moving-image work in the UK – a future that these Awards have already done so much to support. I was particularly impressed by Karen Kramer's extraordinary use of sound and text, and by Alice May Williams' playful exploration of online imagery.”