In the second edition of a series of commissioned public works, the exterior void between the  pavement and our gallery window will again be utilised for artistic intervention.  For this year’s Annuale the usually unoticable pit has been handed to Jake Rusby, who has responded to the site with a work that intends to subvert the general reality of the passer-by.

“In order to cope with the complexity of our surroundings, our brains ordinarily filter out much of what exists and happens around us. Unless we choose to focus on something or it is in some way relevant to our interactions, we are unlikely to be conscious of it. Instead we rely on our assumptions of how objects should look and behave and where and why they are positioned as they are.

Added to this, buildings and urban spaces are increasingly becoming standardised, rationalised, safe and user-friendly. We have to think less about how we move and interact within these environments, as architects, planners and officials have done this for us. Particularly as we become ‘familiar’ with a space or a route we almost cease to look altogether and, as a result, our environment rarely surprises or excites us.

As an artist I bring about or imagine unusual phenomena within everyday situations. By adding, removing or altering objects, I intend to prompt people to reconsider their surroundings- the content, usage and their own perception of what is around them.

I make work that simultaneously blends in and stands out in existing manmade environments. It is not labelled and attracts incidental spectators.”

Jake Rusby 2010