The London Experience: Deep Space Moolog at TestBed1

Everything that I do always seems to take longer than I expected BUT once I set my mind to something I do make it happen! Plus I’m always amazed by the ‘magnetic’ power of enthusiasm and positivity (two characteristics that people seem to associate with me). 

After showing my Arts Council supported installation, DeepSpaceMoolog, at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, North Lincolnshire (Sep-Nov 2016) I knew that I wanted to show it again and I particularly wanted to find a more cavelike venue; the motivation for this being that the original inspiration for DeepSpaceMoolog came from the ancient cave-drawings in the Creswell Crags cave system.

Things all came together back in May this year. This happened with the help, support and encouragement of various people; firstly George Wade at ALLDesign pointed me in the direction of Jasmine at the (recently relocated) DoodleBar, Bermondsey, London. 

Next, the DoodleBar team offered me - one of the earliest showing slots in Testbed1 - in the rear arches of the DoodleBar. In fact, it was such an early slot that at that point there was no mains electricity so I knew from the beginning that I would be reliant on a petrol driven generator (not noisy as it was sited out in the back area). Testbed1 had already hosted events by: RCA Performance Pathway students, The Architectural Association and some band photo/ film shoots so I knew that, with the right lighting, DeepSpaceMoolog could be very atmospheric. 

The next step was to work out how to suspend my beautiful digitally printed fabric cave ‘wall’ but there were restrictions on attaching anything to the metal clad brick railway arch walls (these rail people are fussy). So my ‘belt and braces’ method involved concrete filled buckets, wooden uprights, canes and cable ties. This method had some plus points including improving my concrete mixing skills (big thanks to Richard Bartle at Bloc Studios for his tips). 

Thanks to 20-21 for the video screen and speakers and Sparks Theatrical were brilliant at advising on the stage lighting that I required. The logistics of 'operation DeepSpaceMoolog in London'; hanging system, van hire, generator hire and lighting were scary but ...it was an adventure?! 

In the end, the set-up was easier than I had expected but this was in big part thanks to Dominic Ewan and Dave W’s moral support and very practical technical assistance. Plus a cup of DoodleBar tea to start! 

Dominic Ewan’s experience in live events and performance lighting was invaluable and it was thanks to his skills and patience that the cave atmosphere was achieved. I really love the shadows that the beings and spacerocks cast as they magnified the drama and otherworldliness of the DeepSpaceMoolog experience and made it much more immersive; exactly what I wanted!

Another aspect of the vaulted space of Testbed1 was that it gave an even more sinister quality the DeepSpaceMoolog video soundtrack as it bounced off the tunnel walls. If only Alan Watts could time travel and come back to hear how I’ve woven his philosophical ponderings into this installation.

A post shared by Kirsty E Smith (@frillipmoolog) on Jun 9, 2017 at 8:54am PDT

Visitors who arrived during the day; walked through the fairly light entrance, turned the corner into Testbed1 and, although fairly dark, they could still see most of the details on the printed cave backdrop- whereas visitors who came later in the evening had the darker experience. 

Some visitors even had the emergency power version. I.E. when the generator unexpectedly ran out of fuel and we had to resort to head torches! Interestingly my fellow cave visitors at that time loved it! 

Having put so much creative energy, time and a big chunk of my life into making the work for DeepSpaceMoolog it was really brilliant to give it another showing and have it seen by even more people. It was wonderful to see Andrew Logan again and I am eternally grateful for his enthusiasm and support. 

Despite DeepSpaceMoolog originally being inspired by the cave art of Creswell Crags the beings (sculptures) can be appreciated on various levels; you don’t need to be part of the art world to ‘get it’. 

During the four days of the London showing the installation was visited by people of all ages (youngest was just 2 years old) and nationalities. It was experienced by people from Britain, France, Norway, Chile and was a BIG hit with Australians (are they more open minded, less restrained or really just into the possibility of Time Travel? )

So what’s next?……

DeepSpaceMoolog; installation by Kirsty E Smith, moves to Testbed1 London

Staying calm but getting excited too. Kirsty E Smith at The Doodle Bar; new host to DeepSpaceMoolog

Exciting news! My installation DeepSpaceMoolog is coming to London 4th - 7th May.

The seeds of DeepSpaceMoolog started with my fascination for the ancientness of the cave drawings discovered in one of the caves at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire, but once inside the caves it isn’t just the ancientness that strikes you. Our guide was full of knowledge about Neolithic man and the many sub divisions of Paleolithic man but even as she was explaining more about these ancient cave occupiers my train of thought was already taking a very different route.

One of the many cave drawings discovered on the walls of Robin Hood Cave at Creswell Crags. The outline emphasised in white here for this photograph.

Detail of the digitally printed translucent curtain that is the 'cave' wall of Kirsty E Smith's installation - DeepSpaceMoolog

Being a child of the 60s I grew up in the Space Age and so of course I was open to the idea that actually these drawings could have been made by aliens! My proposal to make a a multi-media art installation suggesting this must have been convincing because I was awarded Arts Council funding to make DeepSpaceMoolog.

Charmaine. With elements of sounds from Star Trek (TOS) woven into the DeepSpaceMoolog sound track there is a strong suggestion that she has only just 'beamed down' onto this space rock. Photo by Jules Lister

Last year my focus was on making new time travelling beings (FrillipMoolog sculptures), Space Rocks for them to ‘beam down’ onto, a digitally printed cave wall - with alternative cave drawings - and a short video. Together they made DeepSpaceMoolog, an installation which I showed in Scunthorpe’s 20-21 Visual Arts Centre.

DeepSpaceMoolog (7min) film which is part of the installation. Photograph Jules Lister. 

I was really happy that so many visitors ‘got it’ and also very pleasantly surprised how many people were aware of Erich von Däniken's Ancient Astronaut Theory and also that some people even recognised the voice I’d woven into my film sound track; that of the very influential philosopher, Alan Watts. The conclusion at the end of DeepSpace Moolog’s eight week stint in Scunthorpe was that, yes many people are open to the idea of time-travel and my playful suggestion that cave drawings might have supernatural origins. (You can watch a 6 minute video interview of me talking about it).

However, I was very aware that the whole experience could be improved if I showed DeepSpaceMoolog in a more cave-like venue……

Sometimes things work out even better than you expect; not only have I found a new venue in London but it is dark, mysterious and cave-like! 

The back arches at the Doodle Bar (also known as the new Testbed1) are hosting DeepSpaceMoolog for four days in May.

The Opening Event on Thurs 4th May 6pm-9pm 

All welcome - admission is FREE 

Opening Hours for DeepSpaceMoolog in London are:

Thur 4th May 6pm - 9pm

Fri 5th May 1pm - 9pm

Sat 6th May Noon - 9pm

Sun 7th May Noon - 6pm

Testbed1

The Doodle Bar

60 Druid Street

London

SE1 2EZ

0207 403 3222

The Doodle Bar is easy to get to: Underground- London Bridge or Bus- Tanner St stop A bus numbers 47, N381, 381 or N199 and it’s the perfect place to meet friends for a drink and some gourmet bar food. 

PLUS I will be there to welcome you to DeepSpaceMoolog my creative cave! 

Rolling together Marvin Gaye Chetwynd and The Magic Roundabout. It makes sense to me!

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd 'Diorama' at Nottingham Contemporary 

Moments where you are reaffirmed that you are on the right artistic track are like buses; you can wait ages for one and then several come along all at once.

Or maybe it is that they suddenly make sense all at once.

I was lucky enough to get over to Nottingham Contemporary to see Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s first solo exhibition at a public gallery in Britain. I managed to visit not once but twice.. 
On my first visit I had only 30 minutes to do a whirlwind visit. 

However I was so excited and so struck by the completely luscious and gorgeously sensual aesthetics of the work that I knew immediately that I would HAVE to get back before it closed.

Claws from Marvin Gaye Chetwynd's Catbus. These claws are worn by several performers when her Catbus is part of a performance. The Catbus was originally a character in Hayao Miyazaki's animated film, My Neighbour Totoro. 

On my second visit, in the show’s closing week, Chetwynd’s work’s uplifting effect on me hadn’t dimmed at all. It was fantastic to be charmed by Cousin Itt (from Addams Family fame) and also good to see the Brain Bug (during one of it’s mid-day animated phases) but for me the absolute winner of the show was the sequence of scaled-down dioramas of film sets. 

Surprised by Cousin Itt

The Brain Bug... a character taken from the, not very successful, sci-fi film StarshipTroopers 

This time I sat and listened to the soundscape which accompanied the dioramas and it was fantastic! 
For me the obvious fun that the two people giving their interpretations (both in basic schoolboy French - and the English translations of this) was so much fun. 

The fragile and precarious nature of the construction of the Diorama somehow just makes it all the more appealing. 

It is obvious that despite the serious issues that she tackles in her work (personal debt being one current theme) Marvin Gaye Chetwynd is very happy (in-fact she encourages) a good dose of irreverence and humour. Her work can be read on several levels so if you simply love textures, materials and a sense of the dramatic then her show at Nottingham Contemporary was perfect to visit. But if you are also intrigued by how an artist can make videos, performances and sculptural works which reference, low-brow B movies, bad sci-fi movies and juxtapose these with classical Greek philosophical treatises and literary classics then Marvin Gaye Chetwynd is the artist for you.

“She is at home with the classics and with popular culture – and she uses one to give new meaning to the other.” 

Performance is at the heart of Chetwynd’s practice so actually everything that was in the show at Nottingham supported either previous performances or was used in The Greenroom, the performance that was specially commissioned by Nottingham Contemporary. 
You can watch an excerpt of the performance online. 

In the exhibition booklet it says that Chetwynd likes the excitement of problem solving when on a low budget and also the sense of autonomy and spontaneity that comes from working on her own or in a small team. 
One of the gallery attendants told me that Marvin Gaye Chetwynd has a troupe of people who work with her, these are people that she has made an emotional connection with- people who are on the same wavelength as her. I understand this approach as her work is so individual and definitely energy driven and I can see why people want to not just watch it but to also be part of it. The gallery attendant also said that the members of her troupe are very loyal and many have worked on several versions of her performances and filmed pieces.

Her work has an energy that I am very definitely attracted to.

I also like when we don’t know the whole story I enjoy when things are not completely explained; when there are loose ends in a story or performance. I have been an avid fan of street theatre for years and very definitely a fan of the absurd.

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd says, “I like Carnival Comedy and Nonsense”. Well me too!

I am drawn to the anarchic and the surreal and so (as I have said in previous blog posts) my touchstone in life is The Magic Roundabout. After confessing my love of the Magic Roundabout I always very quickly add, “Not the animated film but the original Magic Roundabout, the one with Eric Thompson as narrator.”

I now have a video player which I have kept for the sole purpose of being able to watch my VHS Magic Roundabout tape. If I am ever feeling sad or low the completely nonsensical Magic Roundabout stories help me regain my equilibrium. Of course life is messy and ends are rarely neatly tied up (as in sentimental Hollywood films or 'CSI Miami' - or 'CSI shitty' as I prefer to call it.) 

My precious Magic Roundabout VHS tape

I identify with the cheerful, optimistic and mischievous Brian (the snail) and a favourite Magic Roundabout moment is when Brian is wearing his headphones and acting as an air traffic controller ‘trying’ to guide the runaway flying carpet (which has kidnapped Dougal and flown away with him). But Brian isn’t trying very hard and is actually loving seeing the grumpy and cynical Dougal getting dizzy as he is whizzed about on the carpet. 

Moments of mischief are at the heart of the Magic Roundabout because the narrator Eric Thompson (being a bit suspicious of the French) took it upon himself to rewrite the original French scripts that went with the puppet production.

“His calm tones, at odds with the hyperactive animation, lent a curiously mismatched feel.”

This 'not quite rightness' of the Magic Roundabout is one of the things that makes it appeal so much to me. 

As a visual person most I often make connections based on visual qualities rather than themes. When I encountered Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich’s show, ‘The Encampment of Eternal Hope’ at The Baltic, Gateshead UK in October 2012 I almost felt that I was in an alternate version of The Magic Roundabout; the simplified spikey inflatable trees were the link in my mind. 

  

I felt like a small Florence in the Magic Roundabout garden. 

Me (Kirsty E Smith) enjoying the participative aspect of The Encampment of Eternal Hope

My view from one of the Encampment of Eternal Hope shelters 

Although Neil Bromwich and Zoe Walker’s work was on a serious note looking at ways of coping with possible future apocalypse - (Making apocalyptic predictions for 21 December 2012 – the end date for the Mayan Calendar – as an imaginative catalyst, the project envisages a post-apocalyptic utopian community, a kind of ‘garden of earthly delights’) you can’t help but be lured in by the colours, simplified / childlike forms of the trees and the meditative and so possibly calming and hopeful vibe of the processional performance (videos of which were playing in the gallery space) that were part of the show. 

Photograph from the Baltic website 

Rolling these all together in my mind I ask myself what is it that I am drawing from these three disparate creative works and artists? 

My thoughts on this so far are: 
- positive energy, 
- a maverick approach, 
- anarchic humour 
and 
- eternal hope.

55th Venice Biennale - even more recommendations of what to see before it closes

I did promise a second blog post about our exploits at the 55th Venice Biennale and as it nears its end I though I had better get a move on.
  
Sunny skies, relaxing canals, and plenty to see and do; what more could you want from an art holiday? It also helped that our apartment was fairly central and also being 600 years old it added to the atmospheric Venetian experience. As mentioned in my previous blog post we did get lost often and so my advice is to allow time for everything to take a bit longer than you expect. 

Our perfect apartment in Venice, home for 5 nights in July 

In my first post about the Biennale I mentioned the artist and artworks that sprang immediately to mind when people asked about my favorites and in this post I will continue with more from other memorable biennale experiences. 

Arriving at our apartment at 2pm we still had time to walk through the city to The Giardini and buy tickets in readiness for a full day of art the following day. I was also very pleased  that we were able to hop onto Joana Vasconcelos’s pavilion Trafaria Praia on time for the 5pm sail around the lagoon. Having watched online updates of the Portugese ferry boat being renovated over the previous months I was definitely focused on experiencing it for myself. The gentle sail around the lagoon sitting on Portuguese cork stools and then getting up close and personal with her luscious textile glad grotto below deck were very definitely worth  it.

Detail of the luxurious, textural and sensual delight that was the below deck 'grotto' on Trafaria Praia

The next day we did our best at ‘doing’ The Giardini. The Encyclopedic Palace exhibition which has been curated by Massimiliano Gioni is split in half; half is within The Giardini and the other half in The Arsenale. 

The first item of the Encyclopedic Palace show that you encounter in The Giardini is Carl Jung’s famous Red Book. Photographs of this weren’t allowed but you can see selected images here. However experiencing it was absolutely fantastic; with theatrical lighting and luscious pigments the illustrations in his book are really quite breathtaking and it all felt quite wondrous. The book is especially important as it was during the period in which he worked on this book (1914 - 1930) that Jung developed his principal theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and the process of individuation. 

His illustrations are records of the visions that he achieved through what he called 'active imagination' - a process that helped inspire his concept of the collective unconscious. It is said to be possibly the most influential unpublished work in the history of psychology. 

Massimiliano Gioni has curated an exhibition which tries to show the amazing breadth and variety of art that has been made by artists (worldwide and over many years) in an attempt to discover what the world really is about. He has selected works by both artists and outsider artists all of whom have tried, or are still trying, to find a way to make sense of the world. And then the question is, "Is it 'The' world or their world?" There are many many possibilities and a sense of the cosmic very definitely runs throughout the show. Some artists seem to take a fairly systematic approach to their explorations where others tackle the subject from many angles at once. They all have incredibly idiosyncratic views of the world; and isn’t this precisely what makes humans so interesting? 

Eva Kotátková’s installation, Unsigned (Gugging), is a visual presentation of the parallel worlds of psychiatric patients, prisoners and people held in (and who feel trapped) in educational institutions. She is interested in their own inner universes. 

Just a few worries as recorded during Eva Kotatkova's research

Faced with such a concentration of visual stimulation as you are in the Biennale you do start to respond by listening first and foremost to your instinct. I fell in love with this painting by Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern, my personal name for it is, 'A bit bitey', (a favourite phrase of mine from the film Shaun of the Dead) but I didn’t read the entry in the guidebook until months later when I noticed that a cousin who is currently at the Biennale was also sharing images of his work online. I decided to find out more- I had assumed that he was an outsider artist and I was right but there is much more to know about him including: that he created his own mystical cult, was admired by the Surrealists and also worked as a dairy farmer and a circus performer during his very strange and eventful life. 

'A Bit Bitey' is the perfect name... in my opinion!

I turned around in the gallery teeming with other Biennale visitors and was drawn to a collection of small dolls house like models; intrigued I inspected them more closely and I observed that each drab and dingy model room seemed to be supported on small funnels. This art required that I open the guide book straight away! So this contemporary artist, Andra Ursuta, has made these in an attempt to purge herself of, "past physic trauma”. These are models of her childhood home in Transylvania where her family made a living from rendering down pig fat to make soap. For me the funnel shaped pedestals/ legs represent the draining away of this fairly repulsive material. Not pretty but very personal. 

The amazing collection of 387 model buildings made by Austrian insurance clerk, Peter Fritz and presented as an artwork by artist Oliver Croy and architecture critic Oliver Elser is very definitely pretty, but for me it is especially of interest because of the story behind it. I personally love the homemade aesthetic of models (flowery wall paper and (now) vintage DYMO tape sign writing) but I would prefer to put more emphasis on and celebrate the creative endeavours of Peter Fritz. What I feel uneasy with is that simply by discovering it and presenting them collectively in an art situation should that give the discoverer of the models (Oliver Croy and the architecture critic Oliver Elsner the elevated importance that they seem to have been given - their names are at the head of page 66 of the Biennale Guide Book. Does discovering work (admittedly after it’s creator had died) and going to the bother of presenting it give you any amount of artistic ownership? 

Spot the DYMO tape sign-writing on this one 

Back out in the Giardini we appreciated not only the art but also the variety of pavilion buildings themselves. 

I have no idea which country this pavilion belongs to but I do love the roofline.

I have no idea which country this pavilion belongs to but I do love the roofline

Talking of roofs, Simryn Gill, representing Australia this year, took the roof off of their pavilion completely. This building was designed by Philip Cox and built in 1988. A new building has been commissioned and will be completed by 2015. This one has done very well as it was only intended to be temporary and has lasted 25 years. 

The building has very appealing curves and also a certain 'open-ness' now. 

Sadly we just missed the last entry to the Republic of Korean pavilion so I wasn’t able to experience the, much talked about, immersive experience. All I have is this tantalising glimpse into something kaleidoscopic, etherial (and sparkly!)

However we did time it just right for the Polish pavilion. Once an hour you hear the very impressive sound art of Konrad Smoleński. Smoleński has composed a symphony using traditional bronze bells, full-range speakers and other sonorous objects (metal lockers with doors which reverberate) and the guide book explains, “By using a delay effect, Konrad Smoleński offers an insight into a world where history has come to a standstill, thereby approaching the radical propositions of contemporary physics with its perception of the passage of time as an illusion”. 

That’s the ‘art stuff’ and now for my description- From outside it doesn’t seem all that loud, then while I sat at the entrance preparing my ears for the thundering, booming, buzzing, vibrations I watched as people exited (some of them with hands over their ears and looking in pain). So I took the plunge and stepped into this magnificent wall of sound; it completely vibrated through my body and felt extremely powerful. Sadly this video does not do it justice at all and when I tried to record it myself my video replayed completely silently as it is beyond the limits of most small electronic recording devices. 

One of the two cast bronze bells, speakers and metals lockers , all part of the Polish pavilion sound art

Sometimes art can be a bit too clever well too clever for art tourists which have a lot of art to see in a limited period of time. We later read that the front of the Danish Pavilion had been modified so it’s no wonder that we failed to find the entrance and so sadly didn’t get to see Jesper Just’s video pieces. This Designboom article shows more pictures of what I was up against and explains that the work was both video and also an architectural intervention playing with the architecture of the space. 

But if you can’t find the door within 30 seconds I’m afraid we had to move on; Pavilions to go to and Art to see!

I really can't find the door!

Would I be blowing the British trumpet too loudly if I said that Jeremy Deller got it just right? Art should be refreshing so serve your weary art visitors tea, show them something really old (and of course present it well) and then give them a chance to make their own souvenir print to take home. He ticks a lot of my boxes!

Neolithic flint axe heads .... and of course beautifully presented. 

I think Jeremy Deller would be happy to know that every time I use my downstairs toilet I am reminded of him and his 55th Venice Biennale show. A do-it-yourself souvenir always wins support!

I still haven’t mentioned all that is worthy of mention so my advice is to either hop on a plane now and catch the 55 The Venice Bienalle before it closes on 24th November 2013 or alternatively plan ahead for the next one in 2015. 

Venice Biennale, a much easier art holiday than you might expect

The Grand Canal looking just as it did in Canaletto's time

Going to the Venice Biennale is much easier than you might expect. Yes there is an overwhelming amount of art that you can see and at times feel that it is your duty to see, but actually it is all in Venice, which is just such a gorgeous place. The water all round is the perfect antidote and de-stresser if the challenge of ‘doing it all’ becomes too much.

Ah and relax.....

My daughter Bryony and I booked our flight and accommodation back in January and then put it to the back of our minds until we made the trip at the beginning of July.
However it was good to do some preparation and research in the weeks leading up to our trip. There are reviews and must see lists published by Axis, Artsquest, Designboom, a-n and others but really the advice from Nicola Streeten in her Axis video interview of 2011 was the most valuable: Take comfy shoes, (even if you are used to walking, you will be on your feet all day and if it is hot you will need comfy shoes even more) and buy a 3 or 5 day travel pass as getting on Vaporettos (water buses) will speed things up a lot. 

Also my own top tip; buy a decent map in the UK before you even leave home. Get a detailed one and even get one in large print if you can. You can try and rely on a Google maps app on your smart phone but we crossed paths with so many people who are completely lost in the tiny labyrinthine streets that I don’t believe smart phone apps can be that reliable anyway- belt and braces is the way to go. 

A typical 'Where on earth are we?' moment. 

Things don’t need to be expensive either; stay somewhere where you can do some of your own cooking and also make packed lunches. This means that you will have spare money for the necessities like afternoon drinks and evening ice creams.

My daughter Bryony and I

Carlo Pistacchi, ice-cream maker extraordinaire, stands in the doorway of his shop Gelateria Alaska. He makes the MOST incredible ice cream and stays open until 9.30pm

The 25 Euro Biennale entrance ticket covers entrance to the Giardini and the Arsenale. You will definitely need a day for each of these venues and even then it is impossible to see it all. We spent time looking at, pondering over, taking photos and reading blurbs of much of the work and then ended our day at the Giardini with only 7 minutes left to literally run into and glance at the final three pavilions. But then when these venues close at 6pm you can just sit and relax and soak up the atmosphere, drink wine by a canal and watch the gondolas go by. There are still a few venues Like The Museum of Everything that that stay open a bit later. 

A friend said to me that there must have been, “lots of wow! art, lots of yawn art and other stuff that just didn’t speak to you”, and she was right. No one blog post can do it justice and already I feel a follow up post will be necessary. 

So which works to talk about in this post; what springs to the top of my mind? 

Humour- I need it! There is so much clever art, making intelligent statements but wow can it make you yawn a lot! So, what an absolute delight to come across Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s large scale collaborative piece, Suddenly This Overview (1981-2012). Every little scene (all made in unfired clay) was a winner. ‘Albert Einstein’s parents in postcoital repose, having just conceived their genius son’, ‘Home from work’ and ‘Small, medium and large potatoes’ are just three of my favourites. 
People were wandering amongst the works and there was such delight on their faces. It was perfect. 

'Home from work' by Peter Fischli and David Weiss

I really enjoyed being in the midst of art that makes us see the world in a new and less egocentric way. 
In the words of the guidebook, “From the start of their collaborative practice Fischli and Weiss’s work has been marked by a playful disregard of all things high-minded. Instead they valourised the childish, the banal, and the wondrous- often to poignant effect.” and it concludes that, “Suddenly this Overview, Fischli and Weiss’s idiosyncratic anthology, celebrates the world in all its ungraspable variety and profusion.” 

After our day in the Arsenale I was feeling quite overwhelmed and in need of an artistic pick-me-up so we returned to experience Bedwyr Williams’ 'Starry Messenger' for a second time. (There is lots more art outside of the Arsenale and Giardini; various collteral events are scattered all over the city and Bedwyr Williams, representing Wales, is just one of them). 

Starry Messenger is an installation and video piece which defies description; starting off celebrating shed-man in the form of amateur astronomers and culminating in a fantastical surreal film which has various tangents and a narrative with no obvious beginning nor end. A film where there is a fluffy cat up on a table licking perfect period gelatine-stiffened Seventies party food (complete with garish piped decoration) which is very up-my-street. And then throw in some bondage costumes, fake leather and Bedwyr’s deadpan voiceover and I’m in love!

The false teeth on Bedwyr Williams' mosaic encrusted forehead; a perfect over-the-top touch

Bryony and I realised that we both really enjoy immersive experiences and the piece presented by Israel was another outstanding piece of art. The pavilions in the Giardini are a whole range of interesting architectural spaces in themselves and Israel's pavillion was built in 1952 (Zeev Rechter) was a surprisingly modern building and also a very interesting space.

Israel's pavilion in The Giardini

Open plan and on three levels you might think it a challenging space to fill with artworks which include physical works, film and in particular sound but what artist Gilad Ratman has achieved for this 55th Venice Biennale is a perfect combination. And the experience doesn’t rely on being explained with text as it reveals itself as you spend more time with it. 
'The Workshop' by Gilad Ratman is a multi channel site specific installation which plays with time sequences and references utopian pre-lingual communities.

Pre-lingual is a concept that I am interested in personally as I prefer to listen to music with lyrics in imaginary or foreign languages (Mi Wawa by Dabe Toure is one such example). In my own art practice I often draw on memories and emotions from my own very early years, from a time before I had the necessary vocabulary to express myself; from a time before words. 

In 'The Workshop' Ratman uses the primal groans, moans and generally very strange noises uttered by the workshop participants (these were recorded while they modeled their own clay busts). He then worked with a DJ who remixed these sounds into something which sounds completely articulate in a musical sense. (An interview with the artist is here.)  It is an artwork that you want to spend time with and walk up and down the various levels of the pavilion more than once.

The curated exhibition of the biennale is The Encyclopedic Palace named after the fantastical museum that Marino Auriti a garage owner and amateur artist designed and proposed building way back in the 1950’s. His architecture model of this crazily ambitious museum (to hold all of humanity’s achievements) is at the centre of the Encyclopedic Palace exhibition (curated by Massimiliano Gioni).

Marino Auriti's model of his proposed Encyclopedic Palace

The Encyclopedic Palace exhibition is across both the Giardini and Arsenale sites and there is so so much to see but if you stay relaxed about it you will be wonderfully surprised. Yes you will definitely miss things but you won’t be disappointed as you can’t help but come across plenty that intrigues and interests you. 

Ron Nagle’s small ceramic sculptures which make up Sleep Study were perfectly placed alongside a selection of Tantric paintings from Rajasthan. I also love the entry in the catalogue which says, “He models them from drawings that he makes almost every night before bed, usually while watching old Charlie Chan movies. In his state of distraction Nagle has observed that the images pop into my head almost like visions.” 

These works are very definitely intriguing and they do feel both personal and universal at the same time. This is something which I aspire to in my own work so they very definitely resonated with me. 

There is another blog post to follow this one which will include more that I couldn't squeeze into in this one. But for now a couple of funny moments; 

A student steals one of the paper boulders from the Sarah Sze installation in the United States of America pavilion and perches it on his windowsill elsewhere in Venice. 

Art collectors come in pairs, wear straw panamas and never carry cameras!

Visiting the 55th Venice Biennale is the perfect combination of holiday and art. I would highly recommend it.