The Curse of the Phantom Tympanum book, film, & exhibition in Bourges

Following Graeme Cole's EMAP/EMARE artist residency of September 2017, an exhibition and outpouring of new materials are due to take place in the city of Bourges, France.

The exhibition celebrates the collaborative (p)reconstruction of yet another episode of Mr Cole's artist film cycle, UNIVERSAL EAR. It contains the movie itself, looping every half-hour; additional video materials and properties from the set; scraps of discarded research; and an artist's book, available to buy from the gallery or online. The limited edition book will be removed from sale at the end of the exhibition.

From November 16th-December 2nd 2018, the exhibition UNIVERSAL EAR: The Curse of the Phantom Tympanum will take place at Le Haïdouc – Antre Peaux, the premises of media arts organisation Bandits-Mages, who hosted the residency. The show is a satellite manifestation of an exhibition of EMAP artists' work, RACCOMMODER LE TISSU DU MONDE (Mending the Fabric of the World), curated by Annick Bureaud, which takes place during this year's Les Rencontres Bandits-Mages.

EXHIBITION: UNIVERSAL EAR: The Curse of the Phantom Tympanum
OPENING EVENT: Friday 16th November, 2018, 20.00 (FREE)

WHERE: Le Haïdouc – Antre Peaux, 24-26 route de la chapelle, 18000 Bourges, France.

WHEN: Friday 16th November - Sunday 2nd December, 2018. Monday to Saturday, 14.00 – 18.00. Sunday on demand.

COST: FREE

UNIVERSAL EAR EMAN#EMARE residency enters Phase II

The second phase of Graeme Cole’s EMAN/EMARE artist residency with Aleksandra Niemczyk at Bandits-Mages will begin today.

The duo arrived in Bourges two weeks ago to begin preparations for a new episode of UNIVERSAL EAR, an unfound time-travel adventure serial of the future. The new episode is titled The Curse of the Phantom Tympanum, and takes place in a future Bourges in which the concrete present overlaps with 3D, holographic and augmented reality meta-levels populated by looping historical monuments wandering impossible virtual heritage spaces. 

Today, the team will take to the studio at ENSA (Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art Bourges) to begin a period of intensive construction and experimentation ahead of the shoot, which is intended to take place during the final week of September. An artist’s book and supporting videos and digital materials will also be produced, with the work intended to be exhibited in 2018. 

The project can be followed on Mr Cole’s blog, Twitter, by joining the UNIVERSAL EAR Facebook Group, and on the official UNIVERSAL EAR website (Tumblr). 

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Image credit: Elly Strigner