‘a halo around a ghost’ concerns things used and things made, armatures and framing, of stories told and stories unpicked: an illustrated rumination around the things that we might work with, and how they work with us. Part artist talk, part reflection on public forms of research, a halo… will seek to unpack the porous nature of one artistic practice and the objects around which it formulates itself, and through which it is realised.
Mike Cooter is an artist, writer, lecturer, and educator based in London. His work investigates the structural agency of objects, be they sculpture, cinematic props or other anthropological artefacts – objects co-opted or created to drive narratives, fictional or otherwise. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London (2018) for his thesis on ‘MacGuffins’ – a type of narratively-structured and socially-organising artifact described in film and literary works, research that is currently being prepared for publication. He recently completed a six-part sculpture for the radio, Dingus (2022), accessible at radiodingus.com. He teaches critical theory and studio practice across fine art, experimental film, exhibition histories, design and architecture.
Recent exhibitions of his artistic practice have taken place at Kupfer (London), CIAJG (Guimarães, Portugal), Arquipélago (Centre of Contemporary Art, Azores), New Walk Museum, Leicester (UK), Swiss Institute (New York), Stroom Den Haag (The Hague), 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana), Boghossian Foundation / Villa Empain (Brussels), Tenderpixel (London) and Witte de With (Rotterdam). His writing has been published by Art Agenda, Mousse, The Exhibitionist and Princeton University Press, amongst others.
For more information, documentation, texts, visit Mike’s webpage – mikecooter.org
This lecture is organised through Malmö Art Academy (MFAAR).
Image credits:
1. The Mimic, the Model and the Dupe, mixed media installation, exhibition detail, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, 2018. Image: Corey Bartle-Sanderson, courtesy the artist.
2. Dingus, six-part radio drama and documentary, ResonanceFM broadcast / podcast / online, 2022. Image: Mike Cooter and An Endless Supply
3. Guidance 1 (Sigurd Lewerentz), painted steel based on railings designed for the Östra kyrkogården, Malmö (completed in 1943), installation view CIAJG Guimarães, 2018. Image: Vasco Célio, courtesy the artist.
4. biombo II (with Tomás Cunha Ferreira), mixed media installation, installation view CIAJG Guimarães, 2019. Image: Vasco Célio, courtesy the artist.
5. The Mimic, the Model and the Dupe, mixed media installation, exhibition detail, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, 2018. Image: Corey Bartle-Sanderson, courtesy the artist.
6. biombo (with Tomás Cunha Ferreira), mixed media installation, installation view Aquipélago (Azores), 2018. Image: courtesy the artist.
7. MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition, mixed media installation, exhibition view, Swiss Institute (New York), 2016. Image: Swiss Institute (NY), courtesy the artist.