Tag Archives: Video Installation

Hauser & Wirth

Mark Wallinger ID, Hauser & Wirth, 23 Savile Row, London W1, until 7th May 2016

Mark Wallinger id Painting 37 2015 Acrylic on canvas 360 x 180 cm / 141 3/4 x 70 7/8 in Photo: Alex Delfanne

Mark Wallinger
id Painting 37
2015
Acrylic on canvas
360 x 180 cm / 141 3/4 x 70 7/8 in
Photo: Alex Delfanne

This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery and indeed it takes place in both their North and South galleries as there is much to capture our attention and I shall give a taste of it here.  As its title might suggest the artist has used Freud’s terms id, ego and superego as a basis for his works.  The large Id paintings involve the viewer as they become involved with what feelings the artist is portraying.

Superego 2016 Stainless steel, glass mirror, motor 350 x 160 x 160 cm / 137 3/4 x 63 x 63 in Photo: Alex Delfanne

Superego
2016
Stainless steel, glass mirror, motor
350 x 160 x 160 cm /
137 3/4 x 63 x 63 in
Photo: Alex Delfanne

The mirrored sculpture Superego – inspired by the Scotland Yard sign – dominates us and impedes us because despite the reflective nature of its material we are unable to see ourselves in it. His new video work is Orrery.  An orrery is of course a model that shows the solar system and for his video Wallinger depicts the New Fairlop Oak which sits in the centre of the Fulwell Cross roundabout in Barkingside taken from a car.  The revolving world around the tree is both representational of Britain and also our planet’s orbit around the sun and thus our place in the universe.

Mark Wallinger Orrery (film stills) 2016 4-channel video installation, sound 4 minutes 37 seconds looped

Mark Wallinger
Orrery (film stills)
2016
4-channel video installation, sound
4 minutes 37 seconds looped

 

http://www.hauserwirth.info

BRUCE MUNRO AT WADDESDON AND SALISBURY

Winter Light at Waddesdon: Bruce Munro

North Front, Waddesdon Manor ©National Trust, Waddesdon Manor Photo : Mike Fear

North Front, Waddesdon Manor ©National Trust, Waddesdon Manor Photo : Mike Fear

It has become a custom to celebrate Christmas at Waddesdon in a very special way both indoors and outdoors and this year is certainly no exception. Following on from Waddesdon’s interest in the artistic effect of light it is totally appropriate that in the rooms of the East and the Bachelors’ Wings there are enchanting displays of myths, rituals and stories from around the globe. Entitled Lights and Legends, the displays encompass Yuletide, Chinese New Year, Babushka, St Lucy and more.

Billiard Room, Waddesdon Manor ©National Trust, Waddesdon Manor Photo : Mike Fear

Billiard Room, Waddesdon Manor ©National Trust, Waddesdon Manor Photo : Mike Fear

Now in the second year of his residency the noted international artist Bruce Munro has again installed special light pieces in the garden but this time also indoors in the White Room. As befits the room’s name the installation is called Snow Code and consists of messages in Morse code which are conveyed in pulses of light falling like snow. It is a very sensual experience as the mirrors of the room also reflect the messages.

©Bruce Munro, Snow Code, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall

©Bruce Munro, Snow Code, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall

The trail of light through the gardens is quite special and as you progress along it you will come across light works that immediately capture your attention and interest. Among them is Beacon (2013) a geodesic dome of coloured light, which he created originally for the benefit of the charity ‘Cancerkin’ and it certainly is a perfect “beacon” of hope. Eden Blooms (2013) relates to Munro’s recent works in botanical gardens in the USA and his Field of Light (2004 -2014) which he considers as his “personal symbol for the good things in life” is this year his way of marking the First World War

©Bruce Munro, Eden Blooms, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall’

©Bruce Munro, Eden Blooms, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall’

 

Until: 4th January 2015

©Bruce Munro, Field of Light, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall

©Bruce Munro, Field of Light, Waddesdon Manor 2014 photograph by Mark Pickthall

www.waddesdon.org.uk

 

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‘Star’ to Shine at Salisbury Cathedral

Aerial view of Star of Bethelehem by Bruce Munro at Salisbury Cathedral - photo by Ash Mills

Aerial view of Star of Bethelehem by Bruce Munro at Salisbury Cathedral – photo by Ash Mills

The Star of Bethlehem is projected from above onto the still water of the font below and continues spilling over the sides. Once again using the dots and dashes of Morse code Munro tells the story of the wise men following the star to find the infant Christ and is based on Matthew 2: 1-12 from the New Testament.

Star of Bethelehem by Bruce Munro at Salisbury Cathedral - photo by Ash Mills

Star of Bethelehem by Bruce Munro at Salisbury Cathedral – photo by Ash Mills

It takes 2minutes 20 seconds for it reach to its maximum extent and remains like that for 70minutes with the text scrolling to each point of the star. A very spiritual experience to behold.

 

Until: 4th February 2015

 

http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk

 

 

www.brucemunro.co.uk

 

The Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum has two very different exhibitions which mark the centenary of the start of the First World War:

 

IWM Contemporary: Jane and Louise Wilson – Undead Sun, until 11th January 2015

 The specially commissioned video installation Undead Sun is the work of Jane and Louise Wilson, Turner Prize nominated artists, who have been working together since 1989.

Undead Sun © Jane and Louise Wilson

Undead Sun
© Jane and Louise Wilson

It marks the centenary of the First World War in an original way and looks at the technological advances, including optics, that were made because of the emergence of the new aerial warfare and surveillance, which in turn led to the greater use of camouflage and concealment. To emphasise this point the viewer’s sightline and movement are slightly restricted within the installation in which the film is viewed.

The main theme of planes and the air is underlined by the wooden “propellers” of the giant wind tunnel in which certain scenes are played out. The figures depicted in these vignettes are dwarfed by the size of the wind tunnel and thus remind the viewer how the world was caught up in the larger-than-life forces that the war unleashed.

Undead Sun © Jane and Louise Wilson

Undead Sun
© Jane and Louise Wilson

Many of the scenes are based on material in the Imperial War Museum’s archives such as the dummy tanks constructed to mislead aerial reconnaissance, or how a dead horse could be used as camouflage. One scene shows a man in uniform tearing it off until he is completely naked and is based on the story of how on a very cold night a conscientious objector was forced to put on the uniform in the hope he would change his mind.

It is a thoroughly engrossing work!

 

Truth and Memory – British Art of the First World War, until 8th March 2015

 This is a major show of British First World War art and contains some iconic images by artists, including Paul Nash, Percy Wyndham Lewis, CRW Nevinson, Stanley Spencer, George Clausen and William Orpen.

Paths of Glory (1917) CRW Nevinson Oil on canvas ©IWM ART 518

Paths of Glory (1917)
CRW Nevinson
Oil on canvas
©IWM ART

The First World War presented artists with a whole new concept of warfare and how to portray it. The Truth section consists of works by artists who had first-hands experience on the front line. Nevinson, for example, expresses his Futurist vision of what he saw and experienced.

A Battery Shelled (1919) Percy Wyndham Lewis Oil on canvas ©IWM ART 2747

A Battery Shelled (1919)
Percy Wyndham Lewis
Oil on canvas
©IWM ART

Memory combines works which were either official commissions or individual commemorations of the horror and tragedy of the First War or were meant as memorials to the loss and sacrifice of the fallen. Strangely enough I found this the more chilling part of this powerful, emotive exhibition.

 

Location: IWM London, Lambeth Road, London SE1

 

http://www.iwm.org.uk