Opening party at A ROOM on Sunday October 21st from 17:00 to 24:00
On display the new photo series of David Flood. The artist will attend.
Welcome!
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| The Cage's Keeper, The Unknown Citizen |
Realised by David Flood in A ROOM in Summer 2012
From left to right: ‘The Lover’ - ‘The Developer’ - ‘The Dreamer’
The cage referred to in the title is that of Max Weber’s iron cage. Weber, a sociologist, theorised that we lived in an iron cage. The cage is a metaphor for capitalist society, it is not locked but remains open and individuals may leave at anytime. Like all cages it requires a keeper, one who works to keep the occupants in place. The Cage’s Keeper therefore represents the actions of the keeper in an attempt to build and maintain the cage. The images are representational of both historical and present day ritualistic techniques employed by the keeper to control both nature and society.
David Flood, b.1976
He graduated from a BA(Hons) Degree in Photography at IADT Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, Ireland. He also holds a qualification in Visual Education. While residing in Ireland he taught photography in the Gallery of Photography in Dublin and digital photography portfolio in Dun Laoghaire College of further Education. Currently he is teaching photography courses at the Espoo Adult Education Centre in Tapiola near Helsinki.
The series is inspired also to The Unknown Citizen by W. H. Auden
He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.
