The Dog Isn’t Afraid of Fireworks + Laindon

This screening comprises recent works commissioned by the ICA by artists who participated in STOP PLAY RECORD (2015–18), an initiative that supported the development and production of 72 short films with young people aged 16–24 living in London.

 

Basildon-born artist Marianne Murray’s humorous comment on failed new-town ideals takes the now defunct Laindon Shopping Centre as its subject in Laindon. When a city-living journalist visits the town in search of her next Brexit Britain story, she gets more than she bargains for when she discovers a portal to another world in the shopping centre’s hoarding. A live performance by Marianne Murray and Cassandra will accompany this screening.

 

Jaf Yusuf’s The Dog Isn’t Afraid of Fireworks continues his investigation of place and architecture using 3D animation techniques. Yusuf’s surreal narrative links a coastal town with a metropolitan centre by high-speed train. With subtle absurdity, Yusuf’s dog, the subject of the film’s title, becomes a symbol of contemporary immersion in an oversaturated world. Other recent works by Jaf Yusuf will accompany this screening.

 

Marianne Murray is an artist based in London. Her short film 10000 BC (2017) was produced as part of STOP PLAY RECORD and has screened at London Pride and Genesis Cinema, London. Her video works have been shown across the UK at Focal Point Gallery and South London Gallery, among others. Laindon will screen as part of London Short Film Festival 2019.

 

Jaf Yusuf is an artist based in London. Yusuf’s film Castle 17 (2017) was produced as part of STOP PLAY RECORD. Recent exhibitions include Pause: Mysterious Haze, Project 78 Gallery, South Leonards-on-Sea; For Sewages, ASpace Gallery, Sussex; and the group shows Sussex Open 2018, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne and Courier Families 2, Charles Dickens Primary School, Southwark (all 2018). He will participate in a group show at Flatlands Projects, Hastings in early 2019.