De La Warr Pavilion is pleased to present E-Minor, a major new film commission by Bristol-based artist, Callum Hill (b. 1987, Montreal, Canada). Combining 35mm and 16mm film and archival footage, this 13-minute piece takes viewers on a psychedelic journey to explore the shadows of Western society. E-Minor is characteristic of Hill’s approach to filmmaking, which moves between psychological enquiry, gender, politics, and poetry. Unpredictable and erratic in narrative, her films slip between documentary and fiction in their exploration of the human condition. The film will be presented in a site-specific installation in DLWP’s First floor gallery, together with an extensive engagement programme throughout the exhibition’s duration.
E-Minor’s starting point is a linoleum tile depicting a clown’s face that existed in the basement of Hill’s grandparents’ home on Staten Island, New York. The clown in question was Lou Jacobs, a German-born American who became the first living person to be placed on a US postage stamp with a cartoon-like rendition of his grinning expression. The iconography of the clown, together with the pervasive pop culture metaphor of the threatening basement space, become vehicles through which Hill explores the darker side of Western cultural life by asking what lies beneath its surface.
The location of the artist’s grandparents’ home in New York takes Hill back to the city that she comes from but has never lived in. This geographic fragmentation between the US and Europe becomes the impetus for E-Minor’s weaving together of a kaleidoscopic visual essay that expands from the artist’s family history to themes of grief, time, memory, and ghosts amidst the constrictive binds of capitalism in the Western world.
In addition to New York and its islands, E-Minor draws upon and includes footage captured in and around other island locales – the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sardinia– each of which represent Hill’s personal journey through pattern recognition, exploring and making visible the realities of human experience within a landscape of encroaching division and nationalism. In this, the film builds upon her previous work, Crowtrap (2018), which centred upon the UK political climate and its imminent withdrawal from the EU.
Like the ubiquity of linoleum – the material in which Jacobs’ face was embedded –E-Minor pulls up a veneer to reveal a series of uninhibited and potentially liberating truths. It is a film that dwells in the spaces of confusion, fragmentation and irrationality in order to reimagine the homogenous and toxic systems that characterise contemporary Western society.
E-Minor is commissioned by DLWP with production funding from Canada Council of the Arts.
A free exhibition guide is available, featuring a new text by Emily LaBarge on E-Minor, and an expanded list of references from the film.
Hill’s previous solo exhibitions include LUX, London and PS² Gallery, Belfast, and her work has been screened at film festivals internationally, including International Film Festival Rotterdam and Images Toronto. She is the recipient of the Berwick New Cinema Award at Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival (2018), The Aesthetica Artist Film Award (2016) and participated in Film London’s FLAMIN Fellowship (2018).
Exhibition supported by:
There are plenty of welcoming and good value B&Bs & boutique hotels in Bexhill. The De La Warr Pavilion regularly uses the following :
- By Rail
Direct trains go from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford to Bexhill.
There are also trains from London Charing Cross, changing at St. Leonards Warrior Square and from London Bridge or Charing Cross going to Battle. Battle is only a short taxi journey away (15 mins approx).
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for up-to-date train travel information. - Taxis
Town Taxis: 01424 211 511
Parkhurst Taxis: 01424 733 456 - By Car
If driving from the London area:
Take the M25, then A21 to Hastings. Turn off at John‘s Cross and follow the signs to Bexhill.
OR
Take the A22 to Eastbourne, go across the Bishop roundabout to the A271 and follow the signs to Bexhill and the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is on the Marina.
From the Brighton area:
Follow the A27 out of Brighton until you arrive in Bexhill On Sea. - Parking
Please be aware the Rother District car park outside the De La Warr Pavilion operates paid parking until 7pm. After this time parking is free. There is also lmiited free car parking along the seafront.
Within the limits of this Grade One listed building, the De La Warr Pavilion strives to be fully accessible with a range of facilities to support your visit.
Assistance Dogs are permitted into the building.
Please contact the Box Office on 01424 229 111 to arrange a visit.
Facilities for disabled visitors
- Ramped access at the front of the building
- A low counter at the Box Office and Information Desk
- Disabled toilets on two floors
- A lift to all floors
- Accessible galleries on both floors
- An accessible Café
- Spaces for wheelchairs in the auditorium for seated events
- Ramped access in the auditorium for events during the day
- Ramped access into the Studio
- Two travel wheelchairs are available for use at the De La Warr Pavilion. To reserve, please call our box office and information desk on (01424) 229111 or ask a member of staff on arrival. The chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and are intended for use inside the Pavilion. Please contact us for more information.
Facilities for blind or visually-impaired
- Large print season brochures
Facilities for the hard-of-hearing
- An T-Switch induction loop in some areas of the auditorium (please indicate when booking as this facility is not available on the balcony)
- British Sign Language interpretation tours of the building and exhibitions are available on request.