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| Image: Evidence |
For a short while in the development period of the Proof exhibition its working title was Evidence. It was during this time in mid-2004 that Steve Kurtz, one artist in the collective Critical Art Ensemble, was arrested by the FBI. Alerted to some harmless biological samples at his house, the FBI arrested Kurtz under suspicion of bioterrorism. He was eventually charged: with mail fraud, and now faces massive legal bills.
This collision of a highly politicised event involving an artist working on the ground with the development of a curatorial concept centred around ideas of proof and truth within a politicised environment led to CAE being invited to contribute to the show. The material exhibited by CAE is a kind of visual residue of these recent events - part documentary, part recognition of a community of support that sprang up around Kurtz.
Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of tactical media practitioners of various specialisations, including computer graphics and web design, film and video, photography, text art, book art, and performance. Formed in 1987, CAE's focus has been on the exploration of the intersections between art, critical theory, technology, and political activism.
