TNWK : PortraiTS OF VALUE (video works)

TNWK 1999 - 2007 was a collaborative authorship of poetic and visual practices. Kirsten Lavers and cris cheek brought specialist histories in poetry, site-specific installation and situated cultural practice; their common grounds included performance, bookworks, photography, video and curatorial intervention. TNWK’s work focussed on conversation and participation, to produce ‘portraits of value’ (exploring tensions between the societal, the communal and the political), using a diversity rather than a singularity of modes and media.

They began by exploring together, walking and talking, observing and commenting, resulting in forms of collaborative note-taking … often making use of digital photography, videographic and sound recording equipment in preference to the solitary introspection of a more traditional flâneur. Other points of reference for this aspect of their practice include: the Situationist dérive, the reporters of the Mass Observation movement, post-Fluxus interventions into the everyday, and citizen reporting.

An Exeter Alphabet

In May 2002 TNWK were artists-in-residence for the first annual festival of writing tEXt 2002 based around the Phoenix, Exeter. Inspired by the Exeter book of Anglo Saxon riddles housed in the Cathedral Library TNWK appointed themselves Municipal Riddlers to the city of Exeter and set out to write 20 contemporary riddles to replace the missing or untranslatable riddles from the original manuscript. These are missing due to the rough and careless use of the Exeter Riddle Book over the years including its use as a bread board and beer mat. TNWK’s Missing Riddles were written for specific items of generic street furniture found around Exeter - a post box, a road sign, a cash point machine etc etc. Their riddles were shared as a website missingriddles.co.uk which is now no longer online. Each day during the week long residency TNWK explored the city by foot searching out potential riddle locations but also registering the citys’ texts and vocabularies of signage, advertising, graffiti and labelling. By the end of the residency they had amassed a pot of images and video footage which was possible to quickly assemble using an alphabetic constraint into a 4:22 minute video for projection as part of the festival’s closing club night. DJ Johnny d’Bini subsequently devised a sound mix for the permanent version of abecedary which is now an historical document of Exeter at a moment in time when the royal jubilee and England’s football dreams inflected the textual/visual landscape of public city spaces in early summer.

Once Upon a Time in the Best Western

The video presents a collection of people in 'the west' all performing for camera. It is a subtle portrait of the shot, a collection of miniatures; people largely caught off guard in their working contexts. Over 150 participants were asked if they would say "bang" to the camera, they were not directed as to how they should say the word. Once Upon A Time In The Best Western was gathered by TNWK over the course of a road-trip through Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah in 2006.

Gallery installed version Miami Art Gallery, Ohio USA Jan – June 2007

a buried abecedary

Much like the earlier Exeter alphabet TNWK's a buried abecedary (created for the Bury TEXT Festival 2005) emerged alongside the making of other work in Bury. In downtimes from the making of Retrospective Scree(n)d and Throwaway Remarks - Bury Is A Four Letter Word it draws upon a pot of images taken whilst exploring the town on foot. A 38 minute videographic piece, this abecedary deliberately submerges (or buries) its alphabetic ordering into a different chronology intended for passing by intermittently and for catching the attentive eye with a buckle of pleasure rather than viewing in one sitting. In a buried abcedary TNWK have deliberately lingered over the textures, contextualised commentaries and overlaps between the word--images gathered from the street signage of Bury’s town centre. There are words or lettershapes for every letter of the alphabet but their placement within the timeframe of the work has been “written” by TNWK rather than imposed by conventional alphabetic constraint.

soundscore versioned from m-based by Ciaran Maher

far from silicon fen

A ten minute image-text-sound work for the web browser interface that playfully explored the origins and ideologies of naming places to perform a critique of techno-romanticism. originally viewable online at www.silicon-fen.net

The original flash file is no longer playable - this video was ripped in 2025 using loom software which offered the following AI description:

“In this video, I delve into the beauty of Silicon Fenn, a reservoir that captivates with its natural charm. Join me as I uncover the secrets of this stunning location, showcasing its picturesque landscapes and unique features. Discover why Silicon Fenn is hailed as the darling of nature, offering a truly enchanting experience. Don't miss out on this virtual journey that celebrates the wonders of Silicon Fenn! I share the oldest song I know, "The Girl I Left Behind Me," played by the United States Marine pride and drum corps. Watch as I explore various sounds and musings, reflecting on the transient nature of life. No specific action requested, just enjoy the journey with me.”

far from Silicon Fen was commissioned by London Film and Video Umbrella and Norwich School of Art and Design in partnership with the Regional Arts Lottery Programme of Arts Council England East. 2004