People We Love is a celebrated artwork commissioned by UK-based international arts agency, Mediale with the people of York in the UK, part of a multi-city public art project which this September will land in Viborg Animation Festival in Denmark, a celebration of imagination and the biggest animation festival in Denmark. Multiple video portraits reveal people gazing at a picture of someone they love. A picture you never see as visitors feel each unspoken story. These evocative works will now go on display at Viborg Kunsthal from 29 September – 23 October 2022. .
Beautiful, moving, and timely, People We Love, explores the unique invisible transaction between each person and their loved one, as well as that of the viewer of the installation, with all sharing in that one emotion that inextricably bonds us together. Artist and creator of the work, Kit Monkman, says; “People We Love explores empathy and connection. Look intently at any one portrait, and the imagined human story that lies behind each face becomes genuinely universal. I’m deeply moved by how quickly our differences dissolve in front of this very diverse collection of faces and the silent stories they suggest.”
Monkman is the leader of KMA, a creative collective whose work seeks to ask complex and prescient questions about the 21st Century aesthetic; examining the increasingly porous relationship between art and its audience–one in which the viewer may be the performer, and jointly own the generated aesthetic. KMA work has been internationally recognised for transforming numerous public spaces, from London’s Trafalgar Square to Shanghai’s Bund, creating impromptu theatrical arenas in which the distinction between performer and audience is blurred.
Tom Higham, Founder and Creative Director, Mediale says, “We are delighted that People We Love will open at Viborg Kunsthal on 29th September as part of Viborg Animation Festival. People We Love is a magical installation. Both timeless and of the moment, I’m absolutely delighted with the project, and incredibly proud of what Kit has created. When I first took on the role of trying to build Mediale in York, Kit / KMA were my first thought. When we first discussed the idea, the restraint and composure of it really struck me. The work is mature and considered. We’ve had incredible feedback from people who’ve seen it so far – eulogising about its magnetic and hypnotic nature, as well as the sheer emotional power of experiencing it. It’s really very hard to properly describe the experience of gazing upon these portraits. This is much more than an empathy-generating moment, it’s a contemplative, and transformational imagination engine. One of the best projects I’ve ever commissioned or produced.”
