Entropy 02: The Meeting Point

PRIVATE VIEW Thursday 9th February, 6 – 9pm
Open 10th February – 23rd March 2024
Friday – Monday
12pm – 4pm
36 Minster Road, Reading, RG1 2JB

Open Collective’s first exhibition explored the entropic energy embodied by each of them as they slowly emerge into the contemporary art world. Their individual interpretations and expressions of disarray coalesced into a dissonant ensemble of artistic practices; a reminder that ‘Entropy’ knows no bounds – it cannot be stopped, and will never decrease. So they embrace it and move with it. Order is not an option. It was entropy that brought the collective together; a randomness that ultimately led to a chaotic formation of people.

Despite rarely being in one place and often delving into different concepts, they ultimately always unite in their collective dream: a chaotic whirlwind that truly reflects what it means to be an artist today. Open Collective are reimagining the space we occupy, finding the common threads within their experiences. Their artworks collide and amalgamate together to form a collective perception and acceptance of entropy. They, and their pieces, are reaching out to one another to steady ourselves and make sense of it all.

“When we choose to love, we choose to move against fear, against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect, to find ourselves in each other” – Bell Hooks.

The exhibition space has shapeshifted to host a physical ‘meeting point’ of these threads, symbolising the entropic meeting of our lives, art, and ideas. This forms the basis of Open Collective’s second exhibition: ‘Entropy 02: the meeting point’. Their works will expand and meet, spontaneously colliding within the space – the result: a rejection of individual authorship which unites their individual experiences into an all-engulfing mass of disorder.

To experience the lack of order in this world, they invite you into the eye of the storm, into the meeting point. Be drawn into the whirlwind as it manifests, see how we all must rely on each other to remain grounded.

About the Collective
Open Collective is a group of silly art-making weirdos who support each other in their practices and hold space for one another. As a group we agree that it is important to feel safe to play and explore. Our values are rooted in diversity and facilitating spaces where we can make art without being discriminated against based on ethnicity, neurodivergence, queerness and/or disability.
As early career artists we are taking it upon ourselves to share skills and learn how to create something accessible and without hierarchy. We began as a small group of artists and intend on expanding into a larger, fluid community. The collective is open to all who share its values.
To be open is to be free.