Happy Hour

Happy Hour was an exhibition staged at Five Years Gallery London, investigating the fertile intersection between contemporary printmaking and live performance. The project centred on a collaborative dialogue between three artists representing distinct generations: the late Ian Breakwell (1943–2005), Leigh Clarke, and Rolina Blok. The project responded to the legacy of Ian Breakwell, whose seminal Diary project (1964–2005) utilised a multi-disciplinary practice to transform mundane observations into a rich interdisciplinary language. His work, Circus made in 1978, was shown alongside the original score by Ian McQueen made for the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow.

This exhibition bridged Breakwell’s archival obsession with the contemporary practices of Leigh Clarke, whose printed works often employ mass-manufactured objects and text, and Rolina Blok, whose performance-led approach interrogates the body’s relationship to the printed surface. Together, these practices challenge the traditional view of print as a static medium, instead framing it as a vehicle for happenings in a digital age.

• http://www.fiveyears.org.uk/archive2/pag...