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Sunday, 13 May 2012

Exhibtion Review: To The River by Sophy Rickett

Arnolfini, Bristol

3 March 2012 - 22 April 2012

Image: Taken by myself at the exhibition

On the 5th March I travelled to Bristol with my BA Photography course and the first exhibition on show at the Arnolfini was Sophy Ricketts' 'To The River' (2011). When first entering we are surrounded by vast blackness to be only accompanied by 3 video installations in different corners of the room and 12 channels of sound [1]. This is an unusual experience as I am so used to hung framed works on white painted walls as a typical exhibition space. Rickett, amongst a new wave of artists experimenting with video installation, explores 'her interest in our encounter with the natural world [and] the process around photographic representation.' [1] In 2010 during the spring equinox she had filmed on the bank of the River Severn recording a small crowd of people gathered to wait for the Severn Bore to pass. Though this work has been previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale, this project was brought home as Bristol shares great history with the River Severn due to its location. Though unseen, the main subject matter and inspiration is the landscape and the river. I found the experience quite unsettling due to the bouncing of sounds echoing through the vast space and the visitor hearing only snippets of conversation making it more realistic to how it would feel to stand amongst the crowd. I think the blackness emphasizes the night making the exhibition four dimensional. Though the work itself hasn't been particularly inspiring for me due to repetition of film scenes and subject matter, her ambitious methods of large scale installation shows upcoming artists that the possibilities of medium and exhibiting modes are boundless.

Upstairs: A small room filled with Rickett's research from her sketchbook. This juxtaposes the feeling in the first gallery space of black and vastness, this room was white and enclosed.

References:

1. Exhibition Guide document- Arnolfini, Sophy Rickett: To The River

Useful Links:

Arnolfini - Sophy Rickett http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/details/1235

Sophy Rickett http://www.fotonet.org.uk/rickett/index.html

Exhibition Review: Monsters of the Id by David Cotterrell

John Hansard Gallery, Southampton

11 February 2011 - 31 March 2012

Image: Taken by myself at the exhibition

Although I visited this exhibition 20 Feb 2012 I am currently reviewing all the exhibitions I attended this year to practice my reviewing skills. This exhibition, co-curated with Helen Sloan was close to home based on University of Southampton campus and was interesting to see a different approach to art: using video installation, still life and interactive media. Although not being particularly ‘blown away’ by the art itself Cotterrell’s representation of his journeys to Afghanistan has an underlying eeriness that compels the viewer to take notice of his message. Also hearing the use of software used for military training in the exhibition made it more convincing. Though ‘conflict’ may come to mind thinking of war zones, Monsters of the Id ‘takes a deliberately oblique approach’ [1]; it is refreshing to see a different take on this current subject. The advanced interactive installation in the ‘Observer Effect’ absorbs the population in the room and trajects the data to ‘Searchlight 2’ revealing ‘illusory human shadows’ [1] on a desert landscape (see photo above). Landscape is the main theme in his work and how people interact with this space.This gives an idea of surveillance. My first thought of the human shadows was that it reminded me of ants representing how insignificant we are (see video below). I was most compelled by this room giving the illusion that it is lighted underneath however light is being projected from above. The idea of using viewers as part of the exhibition is the talking point making us more involved leaving a disorientated effect. The different rooms feel connected through similar theme however the rooms also feel disconnected too. Walking through the exhibition, despite not being impacted at first leaves an unsettling message, a ‘quiet anxiety between periods of violence’ [1] and makes us think of our unconsciousness, our id and the underlying effects of war.