Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Various locations, Cardiff
14-17 March
Reviewed by: Samuel Hasler
When a bungee cord catapulted a vase across the performance space into the wall, so marked the end of a complex and fast-paced performance piece by Jamie McMurry. Over twenty minutes he had almost destroyed a small refrigerator. He had wrapped it in a flag and thrown it across the space, full of ice, red balloons, red paint, toy snakes. He also melted a chocolate gun, took Polaroid photos of audience members, and swallowed some of my hair in a glass of water. His presence in the space was very effective and his actions became quite compulsive to watch. The performance was very much a live experience: in using the plain strip lighting of the space he made the audience really feel part of the piece, in that you were right there in the action; there was no theatrical detachment or suspension of disbelief. This brought some sense of honesty with it and allowed the frantic and often violent actions to control the space.
The four-day festival brought together over thirty performances by an eclectic mix of contemporary live artists. Artists from all stages in their careers travelled from around the globe to create a diverse and interesting programme. Other works ranged from a beautifully slow and intense seven-hour live installation by Alistair Maclennan at the National Museum Cardiff, to Robin Deacon’s playful re-enactments of micro-performance by the late Stuart Sherman.
Kira O’Reilly performed a durational piece titled Quiver. Her work had two distinct sections, the first of which was a walk across the building. The audience followed her as she walked the through the corridors naked with an almost ghostly presence. She held up a small make-up mirror, which she used to watch the audience behind her as she walked slowly towards the site of her performance. You could see a tiny part of her face in the mirror; occasionally a nose or eye would be visible.
She reached a small, intimate space and sat on a chair. Over the rest of the piece, she invited members of the audience to sit on her lap and lay across her, re-enacting the image of the Pieta. Involvement in the work felt a little awkward, but not uncomfortable. Watching other people lay across her was interesting; there was something about the repetition of the same actions and image, with a constantly changing cast, that had a kind of poetry to it.
The exhibition had no apparent curatorial themes or agenda besides its commitment to time-based (specifically live and performance) art. Although this allowed the artists more freedom to make or do whatever they wanted, it meant that it was hard to create a cumulative effect from the pieces. So some work was maybe a little choked by the tight programme. The intensity of the programme, however, meant there was a real buzz around the building during the festival and many of the artists stayed around to see the other work and enjoy the cider festival in the bar.
Writer detail:
Samuel Hasler
Venue detail:
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Cardiff School of Art and Design, Howard Gardens, Cardiff CF24 0SP
No one has commented on this article yet, why not be the first?
To post a comment you need to login
Back to top