On the case with Off The Hook

Sally Howkins Law, Probability and Risk (2010) Two digital photo frames showing randomized stills.

Finally managed to install Sally Howkins' video work Law, Probability and Risk in the window of local clothing store Off the Hook. The project is an offshoot from an earlier collaboration between Exeter's independent traders and an artist-led curating project Found Space. The proprietor of the Off The Hook wanted to continue his association with visual artists and asked Found Space to help.

It's been a delicate balance finding a piece of work that can hold its own in a busy shop window, while working round the business requirements of the owner and manager of the store.  Even after the success of our earlier project Stowage, I have some misgivings about placing artworks in the retail environment. I like the idea of taking work out of the gallery into the real world but, unless the work is made specifically for the location, the outcome can be an odd hybrid of art and window dressing. Sally Howkins has been very generous and open-minded in loaning her work for this slightly experimental purpose.

Dealing with notions of probability and crime detection, Law, Probability and Risk also looks at the narratives left behind when we touch a surface.  It celebrates the unique identity of individual human beings and questions our reliance on probability in making important decisions about people’s lives.