by Flora Alexandra I digiQualia.com
Set within the
Courtauld Institute of Art, Artificial
Realities is the twelfth edition of the East Wing Biennial, an iconic
contemporary art exhibition in London. For the show a unique blend of both emerging and
established artists have been brought together to explore the realm between
reality and falsehood. With works by Anthony Gormley, Tracey Emin and Edmund de
Waal, the sculptures, photographs, paintings and installations challenge the
viewer to explore their own perception of reality. Sponsored by Digiqualia.com amongst others, the exhibition has attracted a diverse array of visitors in its opening days from collectors and gallerists to journalists and painters.
Embarking on our
shared cultural journey, the audience explored the borrowed works of a broad
spectrum of international artists as well as specific commissions by painters,
sculptors and even perfumers from Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva to Anastasia Brozler. As
we progressed into the opening room Traces
of Memory we were asked to consider the processes by which we construct our
individual realities. Amidst the plethora of themes being explored, some of the
pieces like Adrian Fisk’s colourful Tsunami
House 2005 reflected upon the effects of natural disasters. Along the same
train of thought, the Chilean artist Ignacio Valdes’s Untitled, 2013 were a series of sculptures made from the remnants
of the 2010 Chile earthquake – somewhat reminiscent of Ai Weiwei’s rods at his
Royal Academy retrospective.
Touring the
exhibition with a group of fellow writers, it was unsurprising that we were all
equally captivated by the Selected Paths space
filled with text-based pieces and collages. Requiring our hyper-connected,
contemporary minds to slow down and focus to unravel the works’ mysteries,
there was something meditative about the experience. I was most intrigued by
Trace Emin’s monoprint Star Future,
2011, which read ‘it’s all shooting
stars’ with a human figure sprawled below. Although Antony Gormley’s Matrix V, 2014 made from carbon and
casein on paper was also beautifully composed with interlocking volumes and a
subtle progression from light to dark as the viewer’s eye is led to the center.
Just as we thought we were satisfied, the collagist Chris Kenny’s Does the Darkness Make you Look for Love,
2013 emerged from the shadows. It was a mixed-media piece presenting a series
of found text phrases like ‘how deep is my funk’ and ‘are your stars dimmed by
a satellite's glow.’ Simultaneously, there was both a narrative and nonsense to
it.
We then followed the
crowds down into the stairwell space referred to as Alterations in Light, which the artist Megan Geckler had transformed into an immersive installation
with kaleidoscopic effects. Illuminated by the skylight, her colourful
construction was composed of long strips of tape twisting down into the
basement. With the effect of vertigo, it ensured that the viewer’s experience, ‘of movement and light was
constantly shifting.’ A little dizzy from the hypnotic work we soon found
ourselves standing before the Scottish artist Jim Lambie’s iconic Radiator (pink) 2009, which I last saw
at his retrospective in the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh. Lined with mirrors,
the bright pink geometric piece was unmissable.
As we wandered through
the Courtauld Institute of Art, finding works in unsuspecting corridors and suspended on stairwells, there
was much talk overheard of the curators’ innovative use of ‘transitional’ space. Undoubtedly
they had accepted the challenge of using an unconventional place of education
to exhibit some of the world’s most interesting contemporary art and succeeded.
Beyond their innovative use of space, the aforementioned blend of emerging and
established artists from all around the world made for a dynamic, truly
unforgettable exhibition.
Written by Flora Alexandra Ogilvy, founder of Arteviste.com
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