Maeve Brennan and Imran Perretta Explore Unintended Consequences in Jerwood/FVU Award Films at Jerwood Space

Two new film commissions by Maeve Brennan and Imran Perretta, winners of the 2018 Jerwood/FVU Awards, are on display at Jerwood Space in London through 3 June 2018. Brennan's work, a poetic documentary, examines wind turbines' lethal impact on bats, using landscape shots, interviews with chiropterists, and archival footage to reflect on climate change and human environmental impact. Perretta's film combines computer-generated imagery of a forest tent with handheld footage from refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk, featuring a man's narrative about displacement and identity loss. Both films address unintended consequences of global power structures, with Brennan focusing on ecological issues and Perretta on the refugee crisis. The exhibition, titled 'Unintended consequences: Maeve Brennan and Imran Perretta,' was featured as an online exclusive by ArtReview on 6 April 2018. The concept of unintended consequences, coined by American sociologist Robert K. Merton, frames the show, highlighting unforeseen outcomes of actions. Brennan's film emphasizes a decentralized view of nature, while Perretta's work confronts the aftermath of migration. The films differ stylistically but share a thematic concern with systemic repercussions.