A new installation featuring a mixture of historical magic artifacts as well as original commissions is set to debut at the end of the month in the UK.
“Magic Show”, curated by artist Jonathan Allen and writer Sally O’Reilly, includes work by 24 international artists, with new commissions and performances, and an archive of historical posters, curious props and off-beat ephemera from the world of theatrical magic. The exhibition demonstrates how art and magic both flourish in the grey area between fact and fiction, where the audience is not sure whether to believe their own eyes, and considers the potential of trickery and illusion to undermine the logical thought. Artists include Joan Brossa, Tom Friedman, Christian Jankowski, Janice Kerbel, Juan Munoz, Ian Saville and Suzanne Treister.
The exhibition will also feature all attendants wearing specially made jackets boasting 50 pockets (as designed for private investigations, magicians and ninjas according to their creator) along with a collection of Golden Era magic posters and rare pictures.
The show opens in Derby, UK on November 27th but will visit Blackpool, Carlisle, Cardiff and London before the end of 2010.