1995 - 2001

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For the 25th exhibition on isthisit? there were three works presented, all surrounded by the title of the show, which was ‘1995 – 2001’. This is a reference to the ‘dot-com bubble’ that occurred during that time, where investors pumped money into various Internet-based start-ups in the hopes that these small companies would soon turn a profit. Each of the works are unconsciously responding to this time period, either by utilising the internet as a medium or as some form of inspiration. Jack Fisher’s video piece ‘YOU2PIA’ utilises an iPhone 4 to document a recent journey through Spain. Beginning in a supermarket, accompanied by a rendition of ‘Vertigo’ by U2, all the beauty and allure of capitalism is at its highest. We are taken through various locations, filled with music and pleasure, with the ending surmounting to a silent sombre look at a huge, architecturally intricate building, as if Fisher has indulged himself in the wealth of the country, albeit reluctantly. William Noel Clarke’s work ‘Curator Porn’ takes a collection of images produced by participants of a recent residency and exploits them, focusing in on the various images as an overlay of famous curators repeatedly appears on the screen. The title suggests that this work is some sort of (soft) porn for curators, that they won’t be able to help themselves but to imagine what they would do with these images if they got their hands on them. For me, it considers how anyone can be a curator now, as long as they have an internet connection and a domain name, not unlike how this website started out 25 weeks ago. Lois Williams’ print ‘I can paint’ duplicates a Vaporwave, 90’s Photoshop aesthetic, taking you back to the utopian ideals of the past, before the bubble burst and everything came crashing down.

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​Curated by Bob Bicknell-Knight