Format 23 / The QUAD

On Wednesday the 22nd of March I attended Format Photo-festival in Derby which hosted a range of exhibitions and workshops across multiple buildings in the city centre, one of the buildings taking part in the festival was the QUAD. The QUADs main gallery was host to an immersive and atmospheric exhibition exploring partying and dance. As you walk in to the gallery the centre room displays large format images all relating to theme of dance and night life, majority of the images were presented on the walls of the gallery, the backgrounds of which appeared to change to match or complement the image being displayed on it. Other images were suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room, illuminated by their light boxes and the orange and blue gel lights which gave a hazy night-club effect to the dimly lit room.

Situated on the left and right side of the center room were sectioned off areas presented projected videos. The videos depicted young men dancing, accompanied by audio of rain, thunder, heartbeats, and acoustic music which the occasional break for vocals as the videos tone changes. The video sections were video sections were very effective, creating a quiet space where the viewer can be fully absorbed in the art both visually and audibly.