The Hidden Conference is a three-part series of filmic investigations in museum storages. All three films evoke the discussions one can imagine artworks in a museum’s storage spaces might have with one another. They become protagonists in a filmic narrative that unfolds in front of a handheld camera; their invisible nexuses and the condition of silent coexistence are enlivened besides scientific or chronological claims by the restless camerawork and the montage of textual fragments, images and sound elements. The soundscape is an equal partner in supporting this fictionalization process.
The third and final part The Hidden Conference: About the Shelf and Mantel (2015) was shot at Tate’s storages in London.
The Hidden Conference: About the Shelf and Mantel, 2015
35mm film, color, optical sound, 14 min.
Images 1, 2, 3: Film still © Rosa Barba
Image 4: Installation view at Secession, Vienna, 2017. Photo: Oliver Ottenschläger © Rosa Barba
The Hidden Conference: About the Shelf and Mantel 2015 has been on display at the following locations:
Gaasbeek Castle, Lennik, 2024
The Tanks at Tate Modern, London, 2023
Maxxi Museum, Rome, 2011
Arter, Istanbul, 2012
carlier gebauer, 2011
Sprengel Museum, 2012
ICA Boston, 2016
Hamburger Bahnhof, 2016
ARTER, Istanbul, 2019
Tate Modern, 2020
The Hidden Conference: About the Shelf and Mantel, 2015 has been screened at the following locations:
ICA London, 2013
Gene Siskel Center, Chicago, 2013
Filmforum, Gorizia, 2013
Starr Auditorium, Tate Modern, London, 2010