Thursday 13 February 2020

Very strange exhibition.

The exhibition at 20 21 Arts centre is very colourful, but I haven't the faintest idea what it's all about. It's called True to Size, and it's by Heather Phillipson. She mixes images, noises, objects, languages, and bodies. In 2016 it was at Plymouth Arts Centre, and here's what they said about it. I've read their whole report and still don't get it, so I give up. 
Each installation in TRUE TO SIZE is dominated by an oversized, human scale, teddy bear, in a scenario composed of cardboard cut-out images and vibrant rainbow motifs, with video monitors attached to the teddy bears’ faces. Each short video combines a monologue with surreal and colourful collages of emoji imagery, subverting our notions of playfulness and innocence. Phillipson’s monologues explore aspects of contemporary life: ecology and climate change; self-mutilation and fitness / dieting – the body beautiful. Each aspect represents a crisis for the human body. The impact is then explored by layering sound, image and sculpture – with each installation bleeding into its neighbour. You catch fragments of a sentence, an image on a screen, but it is all fleeting. This is deliberate – nothing is allowed to settle, but instead meanings pile into each other. It is initially confusing and disorientating, but as the images and sounds begin to merge, they create a space where all possibilities are equally valid.







Not a lot more I can say about that. Perhaps you can see something that I have missed.

I was in town today to go to the Bank and Post Office, to pay a bill and car tax. Then I picked up some cat food from the market, and went to the new Aldi close to the motorway and next to Tesco. The store is much the same as the smaller one, just on a bigger scale. I was curious to see what it is like. I won't be going too often because the town one is handier for me.

I got a few yellow stickers from Tesco, but was too early for the final reductions. The shelves were stacked high with food going out of date, a few people later are going to get plenty of bargains.

While I was in 20 21 today I booked a place on a workshop. It's about Stitched Shibori, and the tutor is Carol-Ann Allan. Here is the blurb from her web site. Looks interesting.
Can't copy and paste, it's not working. details of the workshop is on her workshop page. ilona

6 comments:

  1. To my mind, if it looks that bizarre, you can't understand the rhetoric they are using to "explain" it, then it's probably along the lines of the "Emperor's New Clothes" and a substitute for true artistic talent. Well, that's my take on it anyway!

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    1. Thank you for that. Each installation has it's own sounds, they merge as you walk around so it's difficult to understand what it's about. I gave up.

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  2. My eldest Grandaughter works for a private day nursery.A few days ago a trip was arranged for the children and workers there to go to a theater in town to see a show.She said that there were 3 people on the stage..no dialog..no music..just making a few bangs and pulling strange faces at the children...age 3 to 4 years.Even the other staff had to admit that it was one of the strangest pieces of entertainment for children that they had ever seen!.My grandaughter said that the best bit was,when one of the 3 year olds wanted to go to the toilet so they could escape it for a few minutes,lol.No one had got a clue what it was all about,let alone the little ones!.My grandaughters review of it was that was 45 mins of her life that she wont get back again,lol.xx

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    1. Debi, what always occurs to me in "performances" like you speak of, or "art" exhibits as above, is if those 3 and 4 yr olds were to do some type of performance as you speak of, or create some type of art as above....All HELL would break loose. Parents would be investigated. Social Workers would be called. Children would be labelled deficient/anti-social/morally wanting/deprived or depraved, maybe both...and there would be INVESTIGATIONS galore...

      yet, here it is, supposed adults "doing such", and no doubt well funded by some tax payer grant.

      Obscene.

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  3. Not my cup of tea for this exhibit but the class you signed up for looks like fun!!

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  4. When all possibilities are the same, nothing stands out as real...from my old math probability classes!!

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