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Merziety presents: Serious Play

Merziety is an RCA society inspired by Kurt Schwitters' "Merz" philosophy. Similar to Dada, Merz exists in collage and thrives on play. It has been described as a more creative, less cynical version of Dada.

Schwitters’ life might be considered an ode to serious play. When in 1940 he was interned in a Nazi camp in Norway, he became a popular figure in the community, continuing to make a great deal of work, often coming up with creative solutions to the lack of materials. He was especially known for his moldy porridge sculptures. Years later, people who had been with him in the camp identified each other by shouting out his absurdist poetry.

This collection takes play as a jumping-off point, to feature work by members and non-members who take play seriously. What can happen when we imagine new realities, when we invest in fictions? What can happen when we return to the body, the childhood mind, and allow instinct and subconscious to guide us in search of joy? Merz asserts that there is power in that kind of thinking.

Photograph of a white structure, consisting of different shapes, some reminiscent of classic architectural features, on a square base, seemingly floating on a black background.
Caz Hildebrand
Collage of different images, including an ID card for "Ministry of Situational Oddities", a tape measure, a Swiss army knife and a chicken leg, on a black background.
Suthata Suthmahatayangkun
Image of lots of tiny photographs of figures in pink, green and gold, in a repeat pattern, over a pink background.
Jennifer McMillan
Photograph of what looks like a row of eight large patterned rectangles of fabric, each hung from a peg on a wall, with four black and white ones on the left and four coloured ones on the right.
Putri Ramadina Taufik
Photograph of a close-up on a pair of hands putting together wooden doweling, with coloured rubber connecting pieces on the ends.
Britton Jeffrey Kroessler
Image of a person turned to the side and away from the camera, face down on top of a silver food trolley with wheels, with their legs lifted up into the air, on a grey background.
Mila Morelli
Image of lots of yellow and blue, long wavy fish-like shapes, seemingly floating across a window.
Saruha Kilaru
A series of photographs of a rotating, tall, cream-coloured vase-like object, with changing, decorations, suggestive of hairstyles, on the top.
Congcong Wu
Image of a painting of some trees, with flames at the bottom, on a cream wall, with a small figure of a cat walking alongside the wall, to the left of the painting.
Abigail Hampsey
Image of a blue and green circular maze-like object, inside what looks like a round white dish or bowl, with a jagged edge, on a white textured background.
Hanne Peeraer
Image of three people climbing in or out, or stuck, in three washing machines or dryers, with a spilled bottle of red wine nearby and a jumble of clothes, swirling in the air next to them.
Shilun Ding
Photograph of a hand reaching down and holding the melted-looking bar of a weight-lifting barbell, which appears to be made from a soft, translucent amber-coloured material.
Ladina Clément
Image of two blue cylindrical objects hanging from string on a wooden wall.
Mary Pedicini
Image of a picture of a person sat bent over on a chair, with their head in their hands, on the corner of a cloth pinned to a white surface
Jacob Talkowski
Various images over a background photograph of people walking past or sitting on the steps leading to large, carved public statues.
Franziska Windolf
Image consisting of six different images, including photographs and drawn scenes.
Jordan Antonowicz-Behnan
Image of four bubbles, containing a girl in different positions, floating on a river or lake.
Minxu Li
Changing images of different foam and metal shapes.
Liv Wilkinson
Changing images of a long, reptile with feet, swallowing its tails, giving the impression the object is rotating.
https://2022.rca.ac.uk/students/clare-holdstock
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