Mikhail Karikis —
Ain’t Got No Fear (trailer)

Ain't Got No Fear is a film which Mikhail Karikis created with a group of 11 to 13-year-old boys who are growing up in the militarised post-industrial marshland of the Isle of Grain in South East England. In response to the isolation of their village and the lack of space where teenagers can gather, in the last few years kids have been organising youth raves in a local wood, recently raided by the police. Using as their beat the persistent crushing noises of the demolition of a power plant next to their village, the boys of Grain sing a rap song they wrote about their lives, recalling memories of being younger, and imagining their old age and future. Structurally the video oscilates between a music video and observational footage which glimpses into teenage experiences on the edges of urbanity. It follows youths to their secret underground hideaways and features their rackety reclaiming of the local site where raves used to take place. ‘Ain't Got No Fear' reveals a way in which industrial sites are often re-imagined by youths with a form of spatial justice defined by friendship and play, the thrill of subverting authority and evading adult surveillance.Exhibition Mikhail Karikis - Love is the Institution of Revolution at Casino Luxembourg (01.07.2017 - 15.10.2017).

Ain't Got No Fear by Mikhail KarikisMedium: single channel HD video with stereo sound.Duration: 10 min.Year: 2016.With: Mitchell Robinson, Eddie Pattenden, Alfie Norman, Toby Banks, Connor George and Jack.Second camera: Ellie Kyungran Heo, Will Saunders, Eddie Pattenden.Sound recording assistants: Mitchell Robinson, Eddie Pattenden and Jack.Lyrics: Mitchell Robinson & Eddie Pattenden.Additional lyrics editor: Cherry Smyth.Masks: Dudu Bertholini.Grading: Storm HD.Special thanks: The children of Grain, Ronnie Cordier, Henry at the Lodge Guest House, Catherine Herbert, Sue Jones, Matthew de Pulford, Uriel Orlow, Oreet Ashery, Aura Satz, Cherry Smyth, Ellie Kyungran Heo, Joanne Lee, Michael Dale, the St James Isle of Grain Parish Council.Commissioned by Whitstable Biennale 2016 & Ideas Test.