The Bad Feel Loops
Benedict Drew
Can we learn to embrace anxiety?
The constant information overload many people experience as part of everyday life can be seen as both a potential trigger and a metaphor for the experience of anxiety. The Bad Feel Loops uses the language of noise – feedback, rhythm and repetition – to invoke the feeling of anxiety, and invites the viewer to stay with the difficult feeling until it becomes an almost ecstatic experience.
This new work attempts to give form to the subjective experience of anxiety, and explores the potential value of staying with the experience of chaos or crisis, rather than trying to silence it
Commissioned by Science Gallery London.
As part of this artwork, Benedict Drew has composed an original soundtrack, The Bad Feel Loops,which includes the sounds heard in the ON EDGE exhibition.
About the contributor(s)
Benedict Drew
Benedict Drew lives and works in Whitstable and Margate, UK. He works across video, sculpture, music and their associated technologies. He creates large-scale installations, often concerned with ecstatic responses to socio-political anxiety. Solo exhibitions include TRAPPED IN A STICKY SHED WITH SIDE CHAIN COMPRESSION, iMT Gallery, London; The Trickle-Down Syndrome, Whitechapel Gallery, London; KAPUT, QUAD Gallery, Derby; Walker Gallery, Liverpool; THE ANTI ECSTATIC MACHINES and Heads May Roll, Matt’s Gallery, London.
Drew’s work has been exhibited internationally including at Adelaide Festival, Australia; Lofoten International Arts Festival, Norway; and in Hayward Touring exhibitions British Art Show 8 and Shonky: The Aesthetics of Awkwardness. He has been commissioned to create video works for public spaces including Art on the Underground, London and Focal Point Gallery, Southend and his installation KAPUT (2015) was acquired by the Arts Council Collection. Drew has released several records, including Crawling Through Tory Slime (MANA Records) and The Ughhh Ballads (Bloxham Tapes) and regularly collaborates with other artists and musicians. He is a lecturer in Fine Art at Slade School of Fine Art and is represented by Matt’s Gallery, London.
Image shown: The Bad Feel Loops (Production image) 2019. Credit: Courtesy of the artist and Matts Gallery, London.