Saturday, February 7, 2015

City, Assembled Panorama response

The structure of the exhibition works with the circular room to create a circulation route, direction and central display. The first level of immersion occurs before entering the room by the sounds of the video recording. At times it seems to echo the street outside and the boundary between is somewhat removed. As I followed the exhibition around the central structure the sound continued to animate the space and every so often the projected image would cast a moving light creating a level of anticipation for the yet to be discovered panorama. Stepping into the circular room the sound unites with the image and anchors you into the space. The empty monochrome image showcases the built form of the street in a way that is difficult to recognize during the normal hustle and bustle. Projected against this is where we have just come from an atmosphere of movement, sound and color. The clash between the two pieces creates an eerie atmosphere which is strange in its realism. The image and the video each show different representations of the same place. Individually they are restricted but together they are impressive in the totality of how they reproduce the space. From the centre of the room the scale as well as the peripherally of the image anchor you in the street. Time too plays a factor in the immersion. As you follow the video in real time around the room you enter the street. One rotation takes approximately 60 seconds around the circular space like a giant clock. The space is engaging at all times of the day but especially so after sunset when the video becomes more clear and the contrast stronger. It was interesting to watch the transition of how the space felt from light to dark.