Simon & Tom Bloor : Modes of Civic Life

I was surprised at the place, but more so at the people: They were a species I have never seen: They possessed a vivacity I had never beheld: I had been among dreamers, but now I saw men awake… I had seen faces elsewhere tinctured with an idle gloom void of meaning, but here, with a pleasing alertness: Their appearance was strongly marked with the modes of civil life… Hospitality seemed to claim this happy people for her own, though I knew not at that time from what cause…

William Hutton, A History of Birmingham, 1782

Simon & Tom Bloor’s collaborative practice incorporates texts, images and forms culled from a wide variety of sources, ranging from historic documents to 20th century design to contemporary popular culture. Combining low- fi materials and pop production values with a strong design sensibility, they reveal hidden connections and obscure histories, creating shifts in context that encourage new meanings and alternative interpretations. For Modes of Civic Life the Bloors will present works that forge temporary links between the propositions and ideas of figures from recent and not so recent history: A series of painted text works take quotes from the first history of Birmingham by William Hutton (1723-1815) and combine them with aesthetic forms, re-presenting them as ambiguous statements that could be propositions or declarations for utopian futures; sculptures take cues from concepts & principles explored by ‘comprehensive anticipatory design scientist’ & inventor of the geodesic dome R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) and designer, educator and design theorist Victor Papanek (1927-1999) by offering the possibility for practical uses or by using tetrahedrons & octahedrons to create expansive sculptures that can be dismantled & packed down for easy transportation. These sculptures will also function as aesthetic devices that bring the disparate elements of the show together.

Simon & Tom Bloor were both born in Birmingham, England in 1973. They live and work in Birmingham. Past projects include What are the senses? Dudley Zoological Gardens, Dudley UK 2005; Various Positions, Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2006; The wide world is all about you, Ikon Gallery offsite project, Birmingham 2006; and KIOSK3: MERZKIOSK, an offsite project for Merz, Magazin 4, Bregenz, Austria, 2006 (with Gavin Wade).

Simon & Tom Bloor
Modes of Civic Life