Pierre Papet

‘BBC News at 10: Taken Out of Context’, 2016

The project is aimed at probing the complex issues that arise as a result of news consumption in our everyday lives. Some of the most prevalent headlines (and images) were selected from multiple episodes during a week’s broadcast of the BBC News at Ten. The camera is unconventionally turned back at the television broadcast, almost approaching from a photojournalist perspective, giving the artist power to select the images and headlines that are presented as part of this installation. The images have been taken from live television broadcasts and then blown drastically out of focus until the subjects are completely lost, as they disintegrate into pixelated forms. The images are deliberately abstract and aim to instill a sense of beauty and calm, which is juxtaposed with their shocking and scandalous titles. The stories, which originally express subjects of grief and catastrophe, have effectively been filtered and made more palatable to consume, much like commonplace contemporary media. The project hopes to raise bigger questions such as: the reliability of these reported facts, how selective news organizations can be with their representation of world events, hysteria, the future of broadcast media and ultimately what is and isn’t taken out of context?

Robbery of an Elderly Ladies Home, 2016