James Thompson

Re-Imaging Central Court
Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds (UK), 2021
Film

Film portraying the fictitious re-development of Leeds Art Gallery into luxury accommodation with roof terrace reflecting on the nature of urban development in the city.

The work investigates potential futures with the use of CGI imagery, usually used in architectural visualisations as a precursor to redevelopment, and through the residual value of earth dug from a Leeds construction site, as a future in progress. The film incorporates descriptions of the materiality of the Central Court at Leeds Art Gallery, recorded while the space was in transition during its refurbishment, and images of selected former art spaces in Leeds (1888-2021), exploring the value of space for art in the city.

The film was exhibited as part of Spatial Drifts (2021), at Leeds Art Gallery.