?AreWeNotDrawnOnwardToNewEra? 

 ... and in the cellar, a bricked up archway leading to Mill Lane's obsolete canal is the inspiration for Tiff Oben and Helene Roberts' ambitious installation. The cellar is flooded with dark water. Projected onto the surface is a film of remote and hidden corners of the building. 

Roberts & Oben aim is to record, celebrate and reclaim forgotten, neglected and overlooked areas of the city and the people who once inhabited these spaces. Creating highly atmospheric installations they subvert the city through theatrical installations in derelict and forgotten sites to uncover dormant narratives. 

Fundamental aspects of installation artwork are its habitation of a physical site, its connection to real conditions - be they visual, historical, or social - and often, its bridging of traditional art boundaries: public and private, individual and communal, high style and vernacular. The aesthetic power of the installation does not reside in the singular, commoditized object but in an ability to become, rather than merely represent, the continuum of real experience by responding to specific situations, creating a unique dialogue between the space and the artist and the audience.

Using the concept of time and reinventing space, the idea is to capture a fleeting moment. Common determinants emerge: the notion of time, the influences of the space, the blurring of boundaries between various media and techniques, the self-creation and implementation. Materials are ephemeral, smoke, ice, water, fire. Light is used in creative ways to suggest a total environment that reiterates the space helping to re-determine its use.

The impact of artwork and the event of its creation and existence live on, disseminated through the significant photographic documentation.

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