Sunday 11 October 2015

Risk - Turner Contemporary




'What happens when art and risk collide? 

Experience how artists have intentionally embraced the unpredictable and uncontrollable, from chance procedures to political risk; from the power of natural forces to the culture of risk management.'
Extract from the Turner Contemporary's website.


A number of artists are featured in this exhibition and they all approach the theme of 'risk' in a number of ways. Firstly, a video installation by French artist, ORLAN caught my attention. She uses her body (adapting it through cosmetic surgery) to make statements about the representation and misogyny of women in the media, arts, and cultural life. The video shows an operating theatre that has been 'dressed' in an over the top Baroque style that uses visual references to Catholic iconography. The surgical gowns are flashy and designer made; books and poems are read aloud by ORLAN and an interpreter and signer are present to answer questions posed by an audience watching via video feeds in galleries around the world. A high sense of 'theatricality' is prevalent.  

ORLANS actual cosmetic procedures (shown in full and gory detail) are an attempt to incorporate facial aspects of women from famous paintings - the Mona Lisa, for example. The artist has had a number of surgeries, one included implants meant to emphasise the cheekbones, being placed into her forehead. These implants are intended to be permanent. ORLAN has stated that she is 'sculpting her own body to re-invent the self.' The procedures are not an attempt to make the artist more beautiful or a younger version of herself; but to look different and create a clash with societies versions of female beauty.
  
There is certainly an element of risk in the work, so I can see why it has been included in the exhibition. I admire the artist's bravado in using her own body in which to pursue her artistic concerns. And I'm glad that I've been made aware of ORLAN's body of work to discuss and reference it in my upcoming critical theory assignment. I'm looking at the social construct of identity, so ORLAN's unique exploration of the concept will be very useful to me.  




Successful Operation 1991 - ORLAN


One of the strangest exhibits was a re-constructed burnt-out house from Buenos Ares. For the moment, I've misplaced the artists name and can't find reference to the work. I will rectify this at a later date. The wooden house/shack is on a raised platform and is reached by a series of steps. Once inside the light is very low, almost non-existent; the viewer has to negotiate a series of rooms in the dark, containing suspended plastic heads and pieces of creepy looking ephemera.

The fact that the house had once been in a fire kind of added a horror movie vibe for me, and the rooms of detritus made me think of the lair of a serial killer. One room had suspended tree and root sculptures, lit by a central light as they slowly turned on their wire. I had an overwhelming sense of wanting to remove myself from the space. Only one viewer at a time can enter, and the gallery staff hint that it won't be particularly easy to find the exit door. I found this not to be true. I think I was supposed to find a button or solve a puzzle of some sort to be able to move from one room to another. But I could see where I was expected to move to without this impediment and moved about without restriction. Once out the other side a bell rings and the next viewer can enter. This was a very interactive piece of installation and I want to go back and see if I can shake off my initial reaction and look at the work again, in a bit more depth.





citation to follow

There is certainly plenty to see and well worth another visit. Marcel Duchamp's '3 Standard Stoppages' was also on display. String had been lowered onto a board from height, creating a random and wavy length. This length was then used to create a wooden 'measure' and a template for future units of measurement. The whole apparatus was encased in a grand box. The arbitrary nature of what society has decided is a correct length of measurement and the importance placed on it, is brought into focus with this work. With this line of thought it is possible that other elements of our societies (such as Paternal law) can be thought about and questioned in the same way. I think we take an awful lot for granted in this world and what is considered normal or natural is just accepted and not considered as a value judgement made by someone, or some group, with the power to make decisions on our behalf.



3 Standard Stoppages - Marcel Duchamp


Sophie Calle's 'Suite Ventienne' sequence was on display. The work forms a diary of photographs and texts of her observations on a stranger she met in Paris. On hearing of his impending trip to Venice, the artist covertly followed him, disguised and taking images and notes. I've heard a lot about this work and was pleased to be able to see it on the gallery wall - although I suspect a book format would be far more suitable for this work. The images were interspersed by her observational notes - although it was a shame no translation from French was available, so I was unable to read them.

Marina Abramovic's piece 'Rest Energy' is a video installation that shows a man and a woman both holding onto a bow and arrow. As they lean away from each other, tension is placed on the bow. This creates a situation whereby the drawn arrow could be released into the body of the woman. Watching the video, as the figures start to tire, creates a tension filled piece. I detected a sexual tension between the two figures as their breathing seemed to be anticipating a climactic ending. Also, connotations of Patriarchal society, and the power men have over women are evident in the work.

I will definitely be returning to this exhibition to explore further.



1 comment:

  1. Looks a fascinating Exhibition. I was only reading about Orlan and Abramovic earlier this evening. Performance art can be so intriguing!

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