Friendship (And its Absence) MA Digital Media Exhibition
We would like to invite you to the opening of the exhibition ‘Friendship (and its Absence)’ at the Painting Studios, Winchester School of Art on Thursday 18th June, 5- 7pm.
Friendship is becoming an increasingly rare relationship in a world that is becoming more divided and hostile. The ‘enemy’ is progressively positioned as the dominant figure in international relations and the unravelling of ‘special relationships’ (such as the co-operation between the United States and United Kingdom) is altering the geopolitical structures of economics, trade and military relations. The current division between friend and enemy follows an ‘us’ and ‘them’ logic that intensifies national borders and the polarisation of political beliefs.
In this context, conviviality highlights the quality of friendliness that undermines these growing divisions. It describes a practice of care, collaboration and collectivisation against a background of political injustices and inequalities. As governments continue to threaten the right to protest and networks of solidarity, the political action of friendship defends the freedom to assemble, associate and activate social change. This exhibition invites peers and comrades to collectively work towards more just and harmonious ways of living together with the planet, its environments and its human and non-human inhabitants. The exhibition is comprised of creative group projects produced by MA Digital Media students, in the specialised strands corresponding to various media industries and conceptual themes.
The strands include Games and Interactive Media; Immersive Storytelling; Investigative Media Practice; Media and Ecology; and Sound, Culture and Technology. The exhibition includes creative work produced by students at the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan, as part of an ongoing collaboration with the research group Critical Infrastructures and Image Politics at the University of Southampton.
We hope to see you there!