Copperas Hill Building: Liverpool Biennial 2012 – review #1

The following extracts are two of my reviews taken from my joint feature for LS Media with Rosie Dodd. For the full article please visit:http://liverpoolstudentmedia.com/2012/10/copperas-hill-building-liverpool-biennial-2012-review-1/

Incheon: Transitional Terminal

Photo courtesy of Astra Halliday

Wil Bolton’s Transitional Terminal (2012) appears as part of Terra Galaxia: Aeotropolis, Home and Away which explores the city of Incheon (South Korea) and its relationship with modern urban life and the concept of international hospitality.

With Transitional Terminal the Liverpool-based artist continues with his primary practice of utilizing sound though the application of two-channel audio horn speakers placed between two colour prints on film and LED light box systems, illustrating the busy pace of modern travel.

Bolton arrests the senses with audio captured from Incheon International Airport and other sites of transit, drawing the audience from across the exhibition space; whilst the illuminated prints hold collective gaze and create an idealised version of the mundane nature of modern travel.

These prints of Incheon International Airport terminals create a familiar scene from modern life but this familiarity is distorted by the reflection captured through the terminal window.

The airport terminals’ signs are visible but the audience cannot make sense of them – not simply because of a probable language barrier but due to the distortion of the reflected world outside the terminals. This captured reflection forces the audience to reflect on modern life against the backdrop of busy sound.

The distortion and busy nature of the images compliments the chaotic sound and yet perhaps it is Bolton’s use of still photography rather than moving imagery that make Transitional Terminal so effective.

Arguably the juxtaposition of Bolton’s stills against the busy movement of his audio allows the audience to grasp the idea of fast-paced international travel but the stillness of photography allows for contemplation on the effects and impact modernity has on Incheon and international cities in general.

Refraction

Jorge Macchi’s Refraction (2012) sits apart from the other works on display at the Copperas Hill Building as the gallery’s only contribution to the Biennial’s city-wide show The Unexpected Guest.

The installation involves a bare room occupied by iron beams and tubes all of which break at the same height of 170cm; mirroring the break in colour on the surrounding walls from light grey to white (also at a height of 170cm).

Such calculated precision allows Macchi’s Refraction to provide the optical effect of being submerged in water. Perhaps it is his attention to the optical effect that the phenomenon of refraction creates and the precision of Macchi’s measurements that provoke such strong reactions from his audience with viewers feeling disoriented, uncomfortable and in some instances viewer are so overwhelmed by Macchi’s illusion that they almost pass out.

The 49-year-old Brazilian artist suggests that the sensation of insecurity one may feel lies not only in the optical effect Refraction creates, but it is the seemingly precarious placing of iron beams that promote a sense of danger.

Perhaps the truly impressive features of Refraction is the difference that perspective can provide when viewing the piece; whilst standing in certain parts of the room creates a highlighted sense of disorientation, in other areas this feeling is subdued with the optical effect of refraction being less evident.

It is through this shifting of perspectives that Macchi allows the audience to “appreciate the contradictions under pinning our daily experience of the world”.

As Liverpool Biennial 2012’s The Unexpected Guest explores the theme of hospitality, Macchi’s contribution asks his audience to question their perspectives, their trust in what they see and their ability to make sense of the surrounding world.