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Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Haghighian at Carroll / Fletcher .(scribbled at 21:48 )
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) |
...and by the time I'd finished watching the alternating drawings of Vice/Virtue, I decided to cure a little hunger pang with this delight from Patisserie Valerie.
 |
| Blueberry Cupcake, £2 |
Natascha Sadr Haghighian's solo exhibition continues until 14 September.
www.carrollfletcher.comLabels: AAD, ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Baking and Patisserie, Carroll Fletcher Gallery, Eastcastle Street, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Oxford Circus, Thursday Night PVs
Monday, 23 April 2012
Just behind Oxford Circus... .(scribbled at 22:52 )
 |
| Catt; 2010; Fake Maurizio Cattelan Sculpture |
Lies one of the most intriguing parts of the West End.
Whilst dawdling on Oxford Street earlier that morning (on hunt for a new Breton
top, if you’re interested) I popped into Carroll
Fletcher, a newly opened gallery halfway along Eastcastle Street.
If you’re around that part of the city over the next 3 weeks,
go along to see their current exhibition by Eva and Franco Mattes, titled
Anonymous, untitled, dimensions variable. Carroll/Fletcher
has such an interesting interior, I remember going along to its opening night
back in February and being perplexed by the gallery space and how it twists and
turns all over the building.
Consisting of a range of mixed media pieces (including a smidgen
of late seventies ephemera), Anonymous,
Untitled, Dimensions Variable managed to grasp our senses and play with
them relentlessly. If we take Colorless, odorless
and tasteless (2011) as a way of
illustrating this notion. Prior to viewing the piece there is just one line of
vinyl that stands out against the wall:
 |
| Freedom; 2011; Online Performance (Documentation) |
This work emits carbon monoxide, hazardous if played for a long time.
Perplexed, you walk through to see a lone and battered
looking Atari Arcade Machine
(image of one can be found by clicking here)
.Except, there’s an engine fixed to its back. There are a handful of coins
scattered onto the machine; I hesitate before inserting one into it. With
literally no idea what to expect, the machine springs to life with a classic
car racing game and a message flashes up, inviting you to grab the steering
wheel and begin play. So I do, and within moments of turning my first corner on
the (virtual) race track, a pungent smell of burning begins to fill the room.
In most cases this would have left me worrying that the machine was about to
burst into flames, but for some reason my eyes are transfixed to the screen and
I can’t seem to let go of the steering wheel. Whatever this burning smell is,
it’s not affecting the machine at all, so I continue playing the arcade game
until the smell of burning has taken over the room to the point of where I’m
finding it difficult to breathe comfortably. On closer inspection on leaving
the space, I notice how rusty the engine looks and wonder if it is possibly as
old as the Atari machine.
 |
| My Generation; 2010; Video Collage |
On progression through the exhibition, it all changes. Homourous
pieces like Catt are followed by My Generation, which is a video collage
the artists created 2 years prior to the exhibition. There’s an incredibly powerful moment for the
viewer here, as they stare into the monitor they watch a young adolescent throw
himself around his bedroom, and purposively hitting numerous possessions
against his head. I stare at the screen feeling helpless at this traumatic
experience, but this feeling of helplessness begins to cascade and as the
screen flickers onto another person I become transfixed. All unknowingly
filmed, the piece is actually a narrative of emotional upsurges experienced by
video gamers.
Are
all these
artworks/pieces/situations that Eva and Franco Mattes have generated
staged? What is real here? Notwithstanding
their first London exhibition, I’m fairly certain this won’t be the last I hear
about the artistic duo. I think their compelling fictional narratives are here
to stay.
Hurrah. It’s nice to be subverted, after all.
Anonymous, untitled, dimensions
variable runs until 18 May.
P.S I need a new camera; my SLR is on its last legs.Donations welcome.
P.P.S
Design of the Year 2012 is
tomorrow. This is more exciting than Christmas.
www.carrollfletcher.com
http://exhibitiontitlechange.tumblr.comLabels: 0100101110101101.org, Anonymous Untitled Dimensions Variable, ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Carroll Fletcher Gallery, Eastcastle Street, Eva and Franco Mattes, Oxford Circus
If you’re around that part of the city over the next 3 weeks,
go along to see their current exhibition by Eva and Franco Mattes, titled Anonymous, untitled, dimensions variable. Carroll/Fletcher
has such an interesting interior, I remember going along to its opening night
back in February and being perplexed by the gallery space and how it twists and
turns all over the building. 
Are all these
artworks/pieces/situations that Eva and Franco Mattes have generated staged? What is real here? Notwithstanding
their first London exhibition, I’m fairly certain this won’t be the last I hear
about the artistic duo. I think their compelling fictional narratives are here
to stay.
