Tag: LEA Reviews

Salt is an immersive arts degustation. I’ve quite deliberately misappropriated the term ‘degustation’ [the careful, appreciative tasting of various foods, generally taken in good company] as this imparted itself as an ideal transition, because each segment-course is a unique work of its own volition.

Eliza Weirwight, discussing Salt

Salt is the title of the immersive installation by Eliza Weirwight, which formally opened over the weekend of June 16th and 17th, 2018. In terms of her non-commercial work, Eliza is perhaps best known for developing installations that reflect issues that concern her. This was certainly the case when I first encountered her work through her 2013 piece 35 Elephants, which you can read about in my article here.

This embodiment of matters that concern and / or have influenced Eliza are very much at the heart of Salt which, as Eliza notes in her introduction (quoted above), stands not as a single installation per se, but as a collection of scenes or elements or vignettes – call them what you will – which stand as pieces in and of themselves, but which all are drawn together via subtle threads of thought and outlook.

I will say from the top that this is not an easy installation to interpret. There is a deep layering of themes, whether they are in support of LGBTQ rights or statements speaking out against violence or inequality. In particular, there is a strong commentary on matter such as the objectification of women, gender-based violence, sexual predation, discrimination, hatred and on the state of “western” society as a whole which some may well find discomfiting. But so too is the installation richly emotive and evocative.

To define Salt, it is necessary to provide a little background information: while it is itself a new installation in and of itself, Salt has been a work gestating in thought and ideas for some time, as Eliza explains:

I was asked to produce a piece for One Billion Rising [Fourth Position]. It was eight little segments addressing things that were concerning to me … Some of the topics had such gravity, I refused to see them as disposable, and I had this idea bouncing around my head for a few years that I want to do this big thing, so I’ve woven a lot of that original work into Salt, because just about everything in this work matters to me. Some of it is my stories, and some of it is other people’s stories

Eliza Weirwight, discussing the origins of Salt

The “other people’s” stories Eliza references encompasses all those who have faced prejudice and / or hatred of any kind, be it based on gender, race, colour, sexual orientation or sexual predation. Within some of these issues she has drawn directly on the lives of others – notably Marilyn Monroe and  Phan Thi Kim Phuc; within others, she has drawn upon the work of artist of all genres – painters, writers, poets, musicians, to add flavour (depth) to the framing of the subjects represented by them. These influencers include – but are not limited to – David Bowie, Andy Warhol, M.C. Escher, Edgar Degas, William Blake, Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, and Norman Rockwell.

The way these influencers are used is both intricate and subtle. For example, the very design of the structure housing Salt is mathematically precise in it use of shapes, whilst also offering something a challenge to the eye. Thus through it, we catch a glimpse of Eliza’s own appreciation for Escher’s work and the way in which it has captivated her thinking over the years. Elsewhere within the installation, Blake’s masterpiece The Tyger sits with a section related to violence, and thus its complex questioning on the nature of the creative force behind a creature as deadly as tiger becomes transformed into troubling questions on the subject of violence and those who would so willingly visit it upon others, becoming a further provocative motif within the section in which it sits.

Some of these references are delicately nuanced. The row of soup tins in Campbell’s Soup brand colours might initially appear to be “just” a homage to Andy Warhol. However the labels on these cans offer a statement on the ease with which bigotry and vitriol can be espoused on the basis of other people’s sexuality. Given Warhol’s own sexual orientation and attitudes prevalent in “respectable” society towards male homosexuality throughout most of his life, there is a deeper poignancy contained within this piece than might first be apparent.

While the vignettes and scenes within Salt do, as noted, stand individually, so too can they complement each other, adding a further richness of narrative to taste and consider. Take, as another example, the exceptionally poignant section on Marilyn Monroe. Framed around an excerpt of six-page letter she wrote to the psychiatrist who would find her dead a year later, it cannot fail to evoke sympathy at the depth of personal suffering individuals can experience as we reflect of Monroe’s own life and suffering and the price that can be paid as a result of societal expectations.

But there is also a broader narrative here as well. Within the section, there are two images – Monroe examining a small sculpture of Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans by Edgar Degas – a man famous for his paintings of ballet dancers, and second of Monroe practising ballet. Both images offer a visual link back to the preceding section (in which a representation of Petite Danseuse de Quatorze can be found), although there is more at work thematically between the two sections.

As the quotes from likes of Vanity Fair and The Guardian accompanying the representation of Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans note, the manner in which Degas presented ballet dancers can often contain an almost misogynistic delight in portraying the pain and suffering inherent in their craft, somewhat objectifying them. Elsewhere in his art there can be a sense of male sexual predation. Thus, given that a lot of Monroe’s own suffering was a direct result of the objectification she faced, together sexual predation, the placing these two elements together within Salt intertwines the two, presenting visitors with a much more intense sense of narrative shared by both.

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In 2013, Sculptor Barry Richez presented Dreams In Space, an immersive arts / story environment focusing on a group of survivors who escape the poisoning of life on Earth and establish themselves as a small colony in the M51 galaxy.

Now he presents the sequel to that installation, Dreams in Space 2, currently open through until the end of June 2018. It builds on the original, utilising elements from that story – the pyramid on Earth; the (now flourishing) colony at M51. It’s a multi-level setting, commencing on the ground and moving up into the sky. It’s also, to start with, a little bit of a mystery in that visitors must find their way from the landing pint to a hidden teleporter.

On arrival, visitors are advised to set their time of day to midnight (if their viewer doesn’t accept the local windlight) and enable local sounds and particles. The arrival point is within the pyramid, on three of the internal walls of which scroll texts (in French), one of which focuses on the Buddhist Sutta Nipata and another from Confucius. The exit from the pyramid sits opposite the landing point, with a couple of airlocks and stairs leading to the surface.

Here one passes into the alien environment the Earth has become – a place of night and glowing plants and trees through which a path winds, passing through further airlock type doors. These offer access and egress to / from a biodome – possibly the attempt by the colonists to re-introduce flora and fauna to Earth which, as the story notes from 2013 (provided in the introductory note-card) indicate.

The path eventually comes to an end – but the journey is just beginning. From the end of the path, follow the red arrow and flashing lines, and with patience visitors will reach a conical structure in which sits the teleporter to the rest of the installation. This offers access to five areas:

• City Arts – an orbital environment, in which elements of Barry’s art can be found travelling through tunnels and airlocks.
• Gallery Alphalune Creations – a space station where more 2D and 3D art is on display. Note that to access it, you’ll need to join the local group (follow the instructions from inviter by the station’s entrance, then touch the door keypad, followed by touching the door).
• Theatre – a retrospective of Barry’s 2015 Othello, the Moor of Venice, also know as Desdemona, Killed By A Pool Cue.
• Flying Arts – a space offering further destinations via a second teleport, including the opportunity to fly, Inspire Space like. Note this second teleporter will also take visitors back “downstairs” through the different levels.
• Colony – the human colony in M51, waiting to be explored.

With around 27 teleport destinations, 2D and 3D art elements and  experiences, Dreams In Space 2 makes for a mixed art / experiential style environment which makes for an interesting and intriguing visit.

SLurl Details

• Dreams in Space 2 Imagination (LEA 20, rated: Moderate)

“There are experiments and exhibits inside buildings,” Artist and sculptor Silas Merlin says of his installation at LEA 14. “It’s a collection of the things I happen to be building this semester, so there’s no specific theme; but I do have LEA in mind whatever I do, so I think everything is in theme in that respect.”

It’s certainly an intriguing environment, bringing together Silas’ gift for 3D sculpture and his pastel artwork in a place where exploration is encouraged – indeed required, if one is to see everything. It is also a place which includes certain nods to others here and there, be they intentional or otherwise; with the intentional ones offered a little tongue-in-cheek and without rancour.

The landing point to the installation is located in a tall tower sitting just offshore to the rest of the build. This tower contains the first of Silas’ experiments: the use of a cubemap and a 360-degree image to create a reflective hemisphere on the stone floor (you’ll need to have you viewer’s Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled via Preferences > Graphics in order to see the reflection, otherwise the hemisphere will simply appear to be a black object).

Getting to the rest of the installation is perhaps best done by flying from the landing point. A rugged landscape, with a ground pattern and plants which are in places mindful of Cica Ghost’s designs, this is a place littered with buildings and ruins, many of which look to have been extruded from living rock rther than constructed. Some rise like the towers of a castle, others seem to have echoes of Hindu or Aztec architecture, and others are far more free-form.

Many of these structures have elements inside or on them. These range from experiments with projectors and projected lights  – so again, keep ALM enabled during your visit – to little vignettes of characters from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (as seen through the 1953 lens of Walt Disney Pictures) to places to sit down and relax, and so on.

The Peter Pan elements can be found in a little scene featuring the Darling family, and  a charming little diorama featuring some of the principal characters – Pan himself, Hook, Tiger Lily, the crocodile, the alarm clock, etc. Larger versions of some of the characters can also be found dotted about the landscape, with Hook’s ship sitting in a small bay.

Two of the larger structures within the landscape are particularly engaging, albeit for different reasons. The first takes form of a temple with a somewhat Hindu styling to it. It has been raised in recognition of a certain – controversial, shall we say – artist who has not had the best of relationships with the LEA, being s known for her … disruptive … influence.

“She seems to target LEA artists,” Silas playfully said of the artist concerned, “So I thought it would be fun to have a temple with offerings to appease the angry goddess!”

The second building offers a selection of pastel drawings by Silas. However, these are very different to his usual studies. Predominantly black-and-white, they have something of a dark, haunting tone to them, with even the colour paintings hinting at spirits and the supernatural.

A part of the installation that may not be obvious to visitors sits at 3021 metres in the air. Here, on a platform sits a small ghost town of buildings – some of which reminded me of some of the structures in Silas’ Felsenmeer experience in Sansar.  It sits among a number of platforms containing unfinished elements, and offer another point for exploration, even if you do need to map teleport your way up to it.

A curious but engaging mix of Silas’ work, LEA 14 will remain open to visitors through until the end of June.

SLurl Details

• Silas Merlin at LEA14 (rated: Moderate)