Private View Review – Again For Tomorrow @ The Royal College of Art – London

I’m always impressed when an artist or designer has studied at the Royal College of Art. This is a bit sad-mad-fan-ish, but it’s a place that holds a cultish, romantic, just a little bit awed, quality for me. I can’t help it… So, it’s no big surprise that, along with what seemed like the entire of London’s arty masses, I attended the Royal College’s latest show, the final exhibition from students on the Curating Contemporary Art MA course.

Dubbed Again For Tomorrow, the idea behind the exhibition is to showcase talents who ‘turn to the past to re-imagine the future’. As if curating wasn’t difficult enough, this endeavor is no small feat for those involved. After all, if we could make sense of our so-called past, our history and heritage, we’d be living in an altogether, shall we say, more tolerant world. Still, that’s a whole other story and one better left to those philosophers out there.

Back to the exhibition, and there are around twenty artists included here. Indeed, this is nothing if not an international offering. Talents comprise of artists from all across the globe; Scotland’s Martin Boyce, Canada’s Alex Morrison, Switzerland’s Mai-Thu Perret and Germany’s Ulla von Brandenburg to name but a few. However, as with most group exhibitions, there are those who stand head and shoulders above the rest.

The title ‘Again For Tomorrow’ was taken from a series of works by Croatia’s David Malijkovic. So, it’s not surprising that his work creates the greatest impact. His video installation ‘Scenes For a New Heritage’ (2004 / 6), grabs you by the throat, catching you through sheer, ironic humor and iconic, sometimes disturbing, symbolism. Running for a few minutes, the film follows a trio of so-called ‘heritage seekers’ zap across winding Croatian roads in a car wrapped in dubious tinfoil. Arriving at the Petrova Gora, a historical monument from communist-era Yugoslavia, the group steps out of the car to check out the wobbly, tin-can style building. In unison, they holler in 'ganga', a Croatian folksong. Subtitles reveal their sing-song conversation, which runs along the lines of ‘there’s no Gods here’ and ‘yes, but they were different back then’. Perplexing, pensive stuff indeed. But, oh-so brilliant too.

'Again For Tomorrow' is on show at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7, from the 17th March - 9th April.