It's been all about moss for a while now, however now a new lush green flora has unexpectedly come into my life. It's about to become all about Wheatgrass.
One week ago, one Alex and I wondered past At The Vanishing Point gallery (ATVP) and I recalled a facebook invite I'd gotten triggering the words interactive, ecological, tangible, DIY (words which are usually enough to attract us Punk Monks anyway) but also Wheatgrass!
Of course we were then intrigued. We wandered in to what we discovered to be the opening + artist talks. We were ushered out the back and asked if we'd like a vodka and Wheatgrass, Brendan (Director of ATVP and artist of The Phenomenology Machine 1.0) was somewhat surprised by our enthusiastic acceptance. We weren't sure what was going to happen, but boy was that a full on shot of green alcohol.
The first segment of the exhibition featured the hypnotic Spring and Asura .02 (Chris Bowman and Dr. Alastair Weakley), which merges
video art of natural phenomena and moving poetry text in two juxtaposed but interacting panels. Set up on the floor, like peering into a pond, moving visual haikus of light and shadow in moving leaves, cherry blossoms and water droplets accompanied by Kenji Miyazawa's poetry text which created both separation between the two.
Disturbance and interaction were the main points of discussion. The ways in which the artwork draws us in (accompanied by a zen soundscape lulling you into meditation with the artwork) and then how both elements of the work and the space creates disturbance for the viewer- this particular space encompassing light and shadow movement and noise disturbance brought in from the street. Within the work shifts in the text which move around the panel, merge with one another and turn upon themselves causing a similar disturbance in the minds eye as we attempt to follow them and draw connections with the visuals alongside it. The artist talk itself exhibited the point well, as I stared into the work and became immersed, attempting to interact with it, I was brought from my trance by snippets of spoken words of interest before the repeated gong at the beginning of the soundtrack drew me back into the work.
In the spirit of the phrase "And now for something completely different", we followed Brendan Penzer into the tiny room above the stairs towards the curious Phenomenology Machine 1.0. Barefooted, standing upon the smooth blanket of Wheatgrass bordering the room, he explained his prototype for a bigger, exciting project to be launched next year. With the mossy, fresh smell of Wheatgrass in the air, I felt a little high cramped into this room as bursts of mist were left floating in the air and golden light streamed from the phone booth like, reflective platform. It is here where you are beckoned into the dark space towards solar energised light and button activated mist. Here you are enveloped in mist and then banished into darkness once more. The ecological installation reminds us that we are in positions of action in relation to our surrounding environment.
Different interpretations and relations to the space became evident in the talks as Brendan simultaneously critiqued his own work. Some related to the space with confusion and fear from the darkness and the "unknown" used as a luring force- I personally believe confusion is a very important aspect of discovering a work. This work in particular was about relating to an environment- confusion is necessary because to overcome it you must take an action, thus activating the artwork. In relation to our natural living environment, more people should be lured by the sometimes frightening and confusing aspects of what is happening around us, and prompted to do something about it.
Penzer is now developing a mobile ecological art gallery which will begin in ATVP's courtyard and then begin its movement into other spaces. In the spirit of DIY renewable energy and viewer interactivity, this could be one of the most intriguing innovations to come out of Sydney in 2010.
Finally, to top of a beautiful spontaneous Saturday afternoon, we were given a feed- a vegetable BBQ, something well craved during our recently enforced slum conditions (we lost gas to our house last week) and however much we felt like outsiders at a family BBQ, the faces here were both friendly and embracing.
Now to start growing my own Wheatgrass!(tasty healthy, fresh wheatgrass..mmm)
Photos generously donated by ATVP co-director Alex Wisser.[except the first image which I pawned from Wikipedia for its lusciousness]
