One of their first collaborations was the short film "Born in '82", commissioned in 2002 to mark the Queen's Jubilee. Instead of deciding on a conventional approach, "JP" picked a commemoration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, when the Sex Pistols released their infamous punk single "God Save The Queen". This in itself is quite a provocative moment in history, where the furious backlash of the government ensured a hasty boycott of the single, despite it's number 1 spot in the music chart.
The film itself comprised of a record playing on an outdoor patio table, with the camera focusing in and out as the record plays "God Save The Queen". The use of the camera roving around makes the film aesthetically beautiful - something I will come back to later. Dripped fuel on the record enforces the idea of aesthetic, particularly when the fuel is set on fire. As the record burns, a combination of image and sound (music distortion and crackling roar of the fire) becomes the epitome of destruction. The aesthetic of the flames, the distorted screeching song and the record player itself become intense and almost too much, saved only by the use of the handheld camera to ensure the film retains raw energy. As the record buckles from the fire it spins suddenly and the player begins to fall apart as the fire takes over. The artists step in at this point and blast the player with a fire extinguisher, which blows the record completely apart with a gunshot-like sound. This marks the end of the act of rebellion. I quite like how rough and unprofessional the video is, it makes the process of destruction aesthetically beautiful without being too cliche. Don't get me wrong, the music on the record player makes it appear like a music video, but I oddly like how naive the video seems, whilst carrying the message of aggression.
The link between music and art is continued in their work as "JP" themselves say they relate to artists as bands, which is best shown in their exhibition "Moving Average" at Flowers Gallery, a one day exhibition using performance art to imitate a band, blurring the lines between installation art and performance. The instruments are all invented and customised, giving them an industrial yet folksy aesthetic that adds to the theatricality of the performance.
The above video is a clip from the installation and film piece that consisted of squirrels being manipulated on film to look like they're playing intruments. JP made tiny squirrel sized instruments and put peanut butter inside them in locations that meant when filmed, the squirrels appeared to be playing them. They then scaled up the instruments to human size so that when someone plays the human size ones, a motion sensor played the film of the corresponding squirrel. This interactive art piece is not only hilarious to watch, but also discusses the power relationships between animals and people.
Another exhibition that plays with the idea of interaction between art and the public is"Cardboard Wars", a concept JP came up with where they ask members of the public to fashion themselves a costume and a weapon made out of cardboard, then to meet up and do battle. What intrigued me about the work more than the battle was how well JP documented the process and also the imagination of the public as the cardboard costumes were random and crazy but brilliant because of that.
The Juneau Project use the style of folk art within their work, whether it's installation or sculpture, which i do appreciate as I like art work having a style that links it to the artist. However I'm not sure folk art is really my thing, the installation pieces by JP connect to me more.
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