Having never visited the Cell Project Space prior to this group exhibition the sense of the size and shape of the exhibition space is wonderfully distorted by the structured walls. Richard Priestley constructs the scenarios in which his selected artists are to be shown. Straylight Cavern, derived from William Gibson’s Villa Straylight in his novel ‘Neuromancer’ inhabited by cyber-diegheties, is a scenario where anything and everything is possible.
The visitor to the cavern is forced to duck upon entry and doesn’t feel completely comfortable to resume full at any point during the experience. Twisted walkways are pockmarked by alien/mythical busts, seemingly toxic clusters and animated computer screens.
The music played into the cavern increases the feeling of wonder, the constant quick beat increasing my heart rate, inducing excitement and slight elation, all whilst I am standing at the heart of the cavern. The electro accoustics resonant of the trashy science fiction b-movie theme constituted in the works it serenades.
The sour dough busts by Jonathan Baldock intrigued me the most, placed on shelves within the walls you have to really look in from all angles to observe the nature of the faces. They show the visiter what the people of this environment may look like without being too pushy or strict, the soft outlines and gentle details give the feeling of temperate people. Soft colors and seemingly flowing long hair gently braided and pinned back bring an aesthetic and high cultured delicacy to the intelligent eyes that reflect upon us.
The ‘artists invited to participate all practice within the field of video and animation, which, in the context of the installation, offer portals into their worlds and dimensions being monitored from the caverns control centre’. Taken from information sheet offered by the project space this sentence for me sums up my lasting impression of the pieces exhibited, how well the artists pieces worked together, and also within the altered surroundings provided by the cavern walls and music.
From visiting this exhibition with my group I have realised that an amalgamation of various artists’ work can ‘function’ wonderfully well together, and I very much look forward to tackling our own assortment of works to be displayed alongside each other.
By Danielle Birkhead
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