Tag: Art 2017

Now open at Split Screen, curated by Dividni Shostakovich, is Bleeding Books, an installation by Haveit Neox which offers a commentary on how language and information can be both abused and overwhelming.

Three huge platforms float in the sky; one is the landing point where information on the installation and Split Screen can be obtained. The remaining two, one reached via a walk through a tornado of golden letter and the other by flying down to it, offer huge columned but roofless halls. The floors of each resemble printed pages from which stone letters partially rise, draped with human figures who appear to be merging with them. Over both, giant books spill a black torrent of letters.

 

Beneath all three, at ground level (fly down to reach it) is an enormous fortress, slowly decaying,  the roof gone, the floors pitted and broken, the walls collapsing. Throughout its bulk can be found the essence of words: letters can be seen parts of the walls or hang like broken chains from columns, printed pages form the lumps and undulations of the floor. More letters are locked within great cells, or have fallen into the pitted floor.

“It is a story in my ongoing series on abuse as seen through the lens of language,” Haveit says of the piece. “What happens when knowledge is so disrespected that it is freely contaminated with doses of falsehood? There are avenues to properly sort facts in this information age, yet we easily turn a blind eye to certain evidence if it goes counter to our beliefs – even when our choices may cause immeasurable harm.”

In truth, words and literacy have always been seen as a focus of power (such as the withholding of literacy from the masses in times long past) and as a means of conducting war (be it hot or cold, political or ideological, through the use of propaganda and misinformation). What makes Bleeding Books perhaps particularly relevant is that today, we collectively have access to so many channels of communication and alongside them, so much data and information, that the ability to freely contaminate what we read, see and hear is becoming a significant issue.

Worse still, facts and counter-facts are increasingly forced to vie with so-called “alternative facts” and outright misinformation, that it is often far easier for us to retreat into our own bias and seek only the information which fits that bias, no matter how damaging it might be politically, ideologically, ecologically or personally in our health and daily lives.

Thus the metaphor is clear: such is the flood of information flowing around, over and even through us, that the power of words to define truth, objectivity, reason, understanding  – their very ability to present reality to us – is being eroded and broken, both intentionally by others and through our own unwillingness to set aside our own biased outlook, no matter what the consequences.

Bleeding Books is not necessarily an easy piece to understand, nor may it sit easy on the conscience. But neither of these points mean it should be avoided. Rather, it is a piece that the longer you spend within it, the more clearly it speaks to you.

SLurl Details

Bleeding Books, Split Screen (Amra, rated: Moderate)

The latest exhibition at Dathúil Gallery, curated and operated by Max Butoh and Lυcy (LucyDiam0nd), opened on March 4th, 2017. Entitled Private Sphere, it features the work of Prairie Kawashima, and encompasses adult themes, and so should be considered NSFW.

“For almost a decade, Second Life has been my refuge – a place of boredom, excess, love and inspiration,” Prairie says, introducing her exhibition. “Some of this incredible mixture that I keep enjoying so much has turned into a river of self-shots (including occasional homages to my closest friends) that has  found its way to my Flickr account. Other things will forever remain private. Private Sphere is a selection of mostly unpublished pictures that have been between these two categories for some time.”

On display are 29 images laid out in a maze-like pattern in the lower floor of the gallery. The central theme is avatar studies with a focus on bondage and / or nudity – hence the adult nature.

Some of the bondage is explicitly shown, with several images featuring shibari / kinbaku, with the focus purely on hemp-style rope, others featuring more westernised approaches of restraint: manacles, stocks, cuffs, etc.  Where bondage is not the focus of an image, it is sometimes implied through the curls of rope on a bed or the flow of chains across a sheet, while several of the poses include suggestions or hints of submission.

The nudity within the images is also explicit, and most of the pieces appear to have undergone minimal post-processing. Combined, this gives them a direct feel which is – to use an English phrase – pretty “in your face”, in that their raw sexually is openly shown without the subtleties of soft focus, light airbrushing or similar, which might otherwise soften the impact as one wanders between the frames in which the images are set.

This approach – both in terms of the directness of the images and how they have been laid out  –  adds a voyeuristic frisson to the exhibit: we are being invited into a private sphere of activities and witness them with the added excitation over what might be revealed around the next corner.

Private Sphere isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste – but that doesn’t mean it is any the less artistic in form and presentation that more modest displays of avatar studies. It will remain on display at Dathúil through until the end of the month.

SLurl Details

• Dathúil Gallery (Rated: Adult)

Sorcha Tyles opened the next exhibit at Artful Expressions, her boutique gallery, on Saturday, March 4th, featuring the work of Maxie Daviau and Cyoko Xoon (AkomoXoon). Once again it’s a fascinating pairing of styles.

To give full disclosure, I’m familiar with Maxie’s work; she’s both a friend, and recently exhibited her work at Holly Kai Park; as such, I might be said to be a tad biased. But only a tad: Maxie’s work carries enough depth of its own to stand without prompting from me, and I’m delighted to see her exhibiting at Artful Expressions.

Nine pieces of her work are on display, the majority of them landscapes, and all fully demonstrate Maxie’s eye for an image and her ability to take a picture of a location and create an evocative story through considered use of cropping and post-processing. These really are pieces which each tell a story, whether it is one of a journey along old railway tracks, as the shadowy form of a steam train emerges from a tunnel with all the mystery of where it might be going, and who might be occupying the carriages it pulls; or whether it is musing about all the stories the aged and bent trees featured in a number of her shots might be able to tell us, if only they could speak.

Rounded-off by an equally evocative self-portrait, this is an excellent selection of Maxie’s work, and one I have no hesitation in recommending.

Cyoko Xoon, I have to admit, is a name I’ve not previously encountered – and am possibly the poorer for not having done so. Like Maxie, she has an eye and talent for taking a snapshot and turning it into an extraordinary work of art.

As with Maxie, nine pieces of Cyoko’s work are on display, these with a strong emphasis on wildlife  – and the angles Cyoko has chosen to capture them adds a depth of life to each one which is fabulous to see. Careful Contact, Aggressive and Care in particular are utterly captivating, with Care (seen at the top of this review) in particular the kind of piece I would have no hesitation in hanging in my physical world home, were it possible. Landscapes  also feature in Cyoko’s select, and these are as equally captivating as her wildlife pictures, expressing the same depth and life in each and utilising a similar approach to camera positioning and angle.

Maxie and Cyoko are two more artists with exceptional ability to bring a new perspective to the world around them, and they will be on display at Artful Expressions through until the end of March 2017. Not to be missed – and don’t forget Sorcha’s own art on display on the ground floor.

SLurl Details

• Artful Expressions (Adored, rated Moderate)