Ben Rivers: Urthworks

Cert TBC

Adapted from Rivers’ Urthworks film trilogy, Urthworks takes the form of a visual novel set on a future planet, imagined across three distinct stages following environmental collapse. Interwoven with texts by acclaimed science fiction writer Mark von Schlegell, Urthworks merges speculative storytelling with visual experimentation.]

The evening will include a screening of two Ben Rivers’ films – Slow Action (2010) and Urth (2016) – followed by an in-conversation between Rivers and Leeds-based artist Karanjit Panesar.

Village will be at the cinema with copies of Urthworks, with a book-signing taking place after the event. More details about the book can be found here.

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TIMINGS

18:00: Doors

18:20: Intro

18:25: Film screening: Slow Action (2010) & Urth (2016)

19:30: Conversation + Q&A

20:00: Book-signing in foyer

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FILM DETAILS

Slow Action (2010, 45mins)

A post-apocalyptic sci-fi work that blends documentary, ethnography, and fiction. Set on Earth in the distant future, where new islands and archipelagos have been formed after catastrophic sea-level rise, it re-imagines the remnants of civilization.

Urth (2016, 19 mins)

A reflection on isolation, sustainability, and human ambition, inspired by the experimental ecological project Biosphere 2.

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ARTIST DETAILS

Ben Rivers was born in Somerset, UK in 1972 and lives and works in London. Rivers’ films are typically intimate portrayals of solitary beings or isolated communities; his practice as a filmmaker treads a line between documentary and fiction. Rivers uses these themes as a starting point from which to imagine alternative narratives and existences in marginal worlds.

Recent solo exhibitions include Ghost Strata and other stories, Jeu de Paume, Paris (2023); It’s About Time, STUK, Leuven, Belgium (2023); After London, Jeu de Paume, Paris (2022); Urthworks, Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Norway (2021) and Hestercombe House, Somerset, UK (2020); Now, at Last!, Kate MacGarry Gallery, London (2019); Urth, Renaissance Society, Chicago, (2016); Islands, Hamburg Kunstverein, Germany (2016); Earth Needs More Magicians, Camden Arts Centre, London (2015) and Fable, Temporary Gallery, Cologne, Germany (2014). 

Karanjit Panesar (born 1992) is an artist living and working in Leeds. In his practice, oblique explorations of diasporic identity and histories of empire intersect with a structural concern. Often starting from moving image, he constructs stylised and layered installations that contain sculpture and other media. Environments, ideas and objects spill into and out of the space of the screen; artworks are in some way incomplete, asked to be more than one thing at once.

Recent solo presentations include: Furnace Fruit, Leeds Art Gallery (2024); Clarence Pier, Aspex Portsmouth (2022); Parts of Wholes, Workplace Foundation, Newcastle (2022); Actor, Container, Two Queens, Leicester (2021); Strange Loop, Turf Projects, Croydon (2019); and THE WAY THINGS ARE, arebyte Gallery, London (2018).

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TICKET DETAILS

To make this event accessible, tickets are Pay What You Can, allowing you to choose the amount you're able to afford. Free tickets are available on request by emailing info@hpph.co.uk up to 48hrs before the event. 

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