The Unexpected Guest: Liverpool Biennial 2012 - review #2

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/2012/11/the-lift-and-the-unexpected-guest-at-bluecoat-liverpool-biennial-2012-review-2/

The Lift (2012) – Oded Hirsch

Oded Hirsch’s mixed media installation The Lift (2012) is currently on display in the Liverpool One shopping centre as part of the city-wide exhibition The Unexpected Guest.

Hirsch’s contribution to Liverpool Biennial 2012 disrupts the typical shopping experience as the public encounter an elevator which appears to have erupted from beneath the shopping precinct.

The Lift (2012) Oded Hirsch

There is an otherworldly quality to The Lift with its stylized appearance evoking the collective imagination of what a Manhattan elevator from the early-part of the Twentieth Century may have looked like.

On closer inspection a light is visible from inside the elevator and the mechanical components from within the installation create a whirring noise, while the doors appear in a constant struggle to open (albeit unsuccessfully).

The sheer spectacle of Hirsch’s The Lift is undoubtedly the most arresting feature of the piece; but it must be noted that it is impossible to view it without also catching the viewers’ collective reflection that is mirrored on the elevator doors.

Here perhaps, the Israeli-born artist asks the audience in his first public realm commission to use this viewing of the installation as an opportunity for self-examination in relation to the notion of consumerism.

The decision to place The Lift in this particular part of the Liverpool One shopping district may itself be something of great significance to both themes of hospitality and consumerism; situated on Peter’s Lane The Lift is just a stone’s throw away from high end retail outlets such as Hugo Boss, Ted Baker and Jaegar to name a few.

As the viewer encounters The Lift and sees their own reflection in the elevator’s metal doors they potentially encounter a figure weighed down with luxury garments or on their way passed the designer stores coveting the items on display in the shop windows (and in so doing catch their own reflections once again).

It is this mixing of quiet contemplation with the awe of spectacle; the sense of the “real but not logically realistic” (Hirsch’s assistant, Ran – www.thecelluloidwickerman.com); and the juxtaposition of the mundane with the bizarre and seemingly hazardous that make Oded Hirsch’s The Lift so captivating.

Ancient Film (2012) – Sun Xun

Ancient Film (2012) is Sun Xun’s mesmerizing contribution to The Unexpected Guest and is currently on display at The Bluecoat.

Ancient Film (2012) Sun Xun. Photo courtesy of UoL Contemporary Art Society

Xun presents his audience with a mixture of animation projections and large-scale drawings depicting scenes of nature and with a hint of mythology that is unmistakably Chinese in style.

With Ancient Film Xun “explores the cultural traditions of hospitality in his native China” (www.liverpoolbiennial.co.uk) as well as illustrating the notion of transition over a millennia through referencing of Eleventh Century style in his drawings and with the application of Twenty-first Century technology to project his animations.

Here Xun appears to have struck a delicate balance between the two centuries.

The projection of the animation itself promotes ideas of antiquity, magic and a sense of otherworldliness with the dithered edges to the animation frame and in so doing reinforces Xun’s intentions to explore traditions and customs of the Song Dynasty.

The sheer scale of the work inspires awe as once again Xun masterfully juxtaposes two contrasting features – the tranquillity of nature with the intensity of its own actions.

With his drawings of crashing waves and scaling mountains the audience is given an interesting interpretation of the theme of hospitality; the images invite the viewer to explore this world yet warn of its potential perils.

A Detail of Ancient Film. Photo courtesy of UoL Contemporary Art Society

The power of nature and the magnitude of its force is probably most evident in the large scrolls which hang in the same space as the animation projection; these are details of the animation itself and allow for the audience to be swept up with admiration for this painting style as well as illustrating the evolutionary processes of Xun’s project.

Ancient Film is a breath-taking example of contemporary Chinese art and allows both the viewer and artist to reference the past and explore its traditions through modern means.

On 21^st November Liverpool Biennial 2012 invites the public on a tour of The Unexpected Guest. To bokk tickets contact 0845 220 2800 or visit@biennial.com.