Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann friend and foe

may 1– 29, 2003 -- Artist reception on Friday , May 2nd, 5.30 to 7.30 pm
CLIFFORD • SMITH GALLERY is pleased to announce its May exhibition of digital video and video stills by the collaborative team of Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann. Shpungin & Engelmann made their first appearance in the project room at Clifford-Smith Gallery in November 2002 with their continuous loop DVD, Smack. This is their first solo exhibition in the Boston area and is scheduled to coincide with the Boston Cyberarts Festival.

About their collaborative work, the artists write:

You are my best friend and I hate you.....

The intimate behavior of both friends and enemies fascinates us. Our personal relationship feeds the work. We depend on the collaborative effort and explore it as a self-reflexive act that is always aware of itself. Our collaboration thrives through agreement and not through compromise.

Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann

Bloodlap

2001

c-print video still from Bloodpour, DVD, 3 min.

Camaraderie and jealousy, love and hate exist simultaneously within the work. Through the de-individualization of power and denial of the selfish vantage point, the inner struggles of human relationships are examined. We often investigate normally non-collaborative acts in a collaborative manner as a method of challenging notions of ego, identity and socially defined roles.

Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann

Gunfight

2001

c-print video still from Gunfight, DVD, 3 min.

In conjunction with an art historical context, we borrow from performance, installation, theater, film and movie making trickery. Additionally, we explore collaboration through thematic issues of violence, body, media, fashion, sexuality and childhood play.

Within the work, we utilize the color gray as a contrived neutral. We practice constraint. By this, we mean there is no authentic "neutral" and though we attempt to mask our personalities, unavoidably our individualities surface. Our characterÕs identities remain hidden and interchangeable. We perform intuitive acts in safe private spaces. These intimate acts are made public solely through the eye of the camera.

Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann

Handgame

2002

multiple c-print video stills from Handgame, continuous loop DVD

Diana Shpungin & Nicole Engelmann have exhibited widely througout the United States, France, Italy and Germany. Both artists hold MFA's from the School of the Visual Arts in New York.
For more information please e-mail the gallery or call 617 695-0255.