Playing by the Rules

The Royal Standard, 12 March – 27 March 2016
Carly Bainbridge, Simeon Barclay, Ane Hjort Guttu, Andy Holden, Peter Sweetman

Playing by the Rules looks at the role that rules play in society, from those, both written and unwritten, that govern our everyday behaviour to the conceptual nature of rules themselves, and how we use them to try to understand and control the world around us. Authority figures and institutions use them to codify and control individuals’ behaviour, often with arbitrary and ineffectual results, however, having rules in place also provides a framework within which to operate, as opposed to a blank slate, and sets up boundaries to be tested and broken. Rules are also a defining feature of games, with sports such as football existing in their contemporary format due to the implementation of rules, showing that the provision of a defined structure can be useful or even fun, as well as limiting and restrictive.

Read the exhibition guide here.

Read the press release here.

Press:
Review, frieze
Review, The Double Negative