Finally getting into the swing of blogging regularly again.
Anyway, I went to Carroll / Fletcher's private view last Thursday night for Natascha Sadr Haghighian's solo show.

de paso (2012)

This is de paso (2012), the first work we see on first entering the gallery. A rather bizarre piece, it appears on first viewing that the suitcase crushes the bottle and simultaneously moves about the gallery floor, gradually pulling itself through the space. The sound of the plastic being manipulated is recorded, then amplified throughout the entire room through the microphone. Plutôt intelligent, oui? 

Empire of the Senseless Part I (2006)

The Microscope (2006)

The photograph on the right depicts a detail of Empire of the Senseless Part I, Haghighian's gallery installation of lights switching themselves off in structured intervals. As I type this, I realise that I've made it sound quite Martin Creed. Which it isn't. Rather than place these floodlights in a single room, Haghighian has used the gallery staircase which she has then connected to a sensor, so they trigger whenever anyone ventures down to the gallery's basement. On following the direction of the light, the viewer is lead to the other aspect of Empire of the Senseless Part 1, which is a large amount of text, painted on in phosphorescent paint and extracted from the novel Empire of the Senseless by Kathy Acker.

Haghighian explores these notions of identity, corporatism and this recurring sense of manipulations through a vast variety of media. Here, on first viewing The Microscope (Top left photo) we assume that this is a classic object trouvé, but on closer inspection  the microscope amplifies what appears to be a discussion through the eye piece.

Vice/Virtue (2001)

Unternehmen:Bermuda (Bermuda: Venture) (2000)

Blueberry Cupcake, £2

www.carrollfletcher.com

Labels: AAD, ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Baking and Patisserie, Carroll Fletcher Gallery, Eastcastle Street, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Oxford Circus, Thursday Night PVs