The Social Cinema project consists of a series of temporary cinemas, each installed for one night only into the existing urban fabric of the Biennale designated route between Exmouth Market and the Millennium Bridge. Films about, set in, or commenting on London and its architecture were stunningly projected upon the city itself.
At each location, buildings became screens, steps seating, and residents generously gave power, or loaned their houses as projection booths. The architectural fabric of the temporary cinemas was improvisery, playful and subtle; pallets borrowed from an adjacent market made temporary bleachers, plastic crates from local pubs and restaurants became seating, neighbours joined the audience, and volunteers with torches transformed into ushers. Social Cinema turned un-built spaces into auditoria and spectacularly intervened in neglected places around landmark buildings.
The film programme of the Social Cinema traced an evolution in the moving-image representation of everyday life. From the observer and observed of classic documentaries, to contemporary participation in those representations through mobile technologies, by people living and playing in London.
