Jude Cowan
For The Messengers
Poetry & Mixed Media Art In Response To The News

Exhibition: Nov 1 - 27, 2011
Free Entry

Public Event: Mon, Nov 7, 8pm. £5
featuring Jude Cowan and Jon Snow
Please note: This event is fully booked

Picture
Ciudad Juarez (sketch)
'For The Messengers' is a series of responses using visual and sound art to the video news produced by Reuters and processed by artist and writer Jude Cowan as part of her day job as an archivist for ITN.

In Jude's job as an archivist she encounters a range of harrowing and unusual footage from all over the world. She uses poetry and visual art to respond to the stories and to the emotions that form an inescapable part of close viewing of this material. These are blunt sketches of witness taken quickly and directly from the computer screen, transformed with the eye of a subtle and sensitive artist. The images and sound installation in this exhibition reflect on a world of fast-changing media. Her pictures mediate moments from the moving footage.

This exhibition is a companion to Jude's first collection of poetry, published by Donut Press, For The Messengers. This book was dedicated to Fadel Shana, the news journalist who was killed at the age of 23 in Gaza.

Picture
Mumbai 2008
Picture
Reuters 1 (Red)
Picture
"Jude Cowan has gone where I've never seen a jobbing journalist tread before. This is news observed with so discerning an eye that marvellous detail emerges within the poetry. Read her book. We are the richer for it." Jon Snow, Channel 4 News

"Unlike the daily news that fades from view, Jude Cowan's images linger in the memory. She creates poetry which finds the humanity amid the horror of our times. Her work is outstanding." Bill Neely, International Editor, ITN News

About Jude Cowan

Picture
Jude Cowan was born in Manchester and lives in London. She is a historian, archivist and songwriter. For the Messengers is her first collection of poetry.  Jude was awarded a First Class BA (Hons) degree in English Language and Literature by St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, an MA (with Distinction) in Film and Visual Media by Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Ph.D in Film History by Birkbeck College, University of London. She currently works for ITN Source.
Jude's artist website: www.judecowan.com
For The Messengers website: www.forthemessengers.co.uk

About Jon Snow

Picture
 Jon Snow has been the face of Channel 4 News since 1989. Jon joined ITN in 1976 and became Washington Correspondent in 1984. Since then, he has travelled the world to cover the news – from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela, to Barack Obama's inauguration and the earthquake in Haiti. His many awards include the Richard Dimbleby Bafta award for Best Factual Contribution to Television (2005), and Royal Television Society awards for Journalist of the Year (2006) and Presenter of the Year (2009). As well as presenting the programme, Jon writes Snowblog - a unique take on the day's events - and Snowmail - a preview of the evening programme's main stories.