Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Millenium Galleries/Winter Gardens, Sheffield
16 February - 30 March 2008
Reviewed by: Dan Green
I approached Yes/No with some excitement. Having read the bright yellow pamphlet I was ready to immerse myself in the options presented, with particular interest in two pieces, ‘Words and Silence’ by Paul Rooney, and ‘Adrift’ by Neil Webb.
‘Words and Silence’ sits within the Millennium galleries show, a wide-open space divided only by the temporary white cube housing Nasrin Tabatabai’s ‘Passage’. It seems like every other work on show utilises headphones, and Rooney’s piece is one of these. The premise is of a call centre worker, taking the opportunity of an answer phone to tell her story, a conversation between her and the machine. The viewer becomes subject through the insinuation that it is their own answer phone, and that they are listening back to the message. It is long and philosophical, ‘words and silence are not so different at all….there is always something there lurking in the deep…drip, drip, drip’. It is this acknowledgement of the underlying nature of the human mind, that notion that quiet (as we can never experience silence) gives an opportunity for thoughts to arise from the depths of our mind.
His work was presented as a group of four white cubes, each with a set of headphones attached, the cable on each pair not quite long enough to use whilst standing. As a result the viewer must sit on the white cube, in essence a plinth, becoming part of the work, and part of the galleries display. As I sit on my chosen cube, I realise the fact that I am now on show, no longer an observer but now a partaker, I give others permission to watch me experience this monologue. I am elevated from flaneur to art object, but within that objectification is my status reduced? It raises the question of whether by observing others we remove their humanness. As I watch a friend go through the same actions, does he lessen in my perception? The monologue celebrates the story of an otherwise unheard individual, glossed over by society and unnoticed by most. What makes a persons story worth knowing, what qualifies for celebrity within our media obsessed culture? By placing the viewer on a plinth, does the artist suggest that each individual there is as important as the woman who’s story he chooses to tell, that it is worth taking time to consider each one. And by contrast, does he change the onlooker to voyeur?
It is a short walk into the Winter Gardens, where Neil Webb’s ‘Adrift’ is installed. Armed with the knowledge that he has used exciters to turn the structure of the building into a speaker, I go in search of the piece. It takes some time, I find myself looking up into the air, straining my ears and eyes for a hint of this intervention into a very public place. For some reason I expected the whole structure to be resonating, which is exactly what the small section Webb has utilised does. The exciters are placed behind a bench, and emit a quiet, gentle sound. I press my ear to the glass and set myself as close to the work as possible.
Perhaps it is the unfortunate background noise that makes this necessary, perhaps the placement of the work in such a public place means that the act of listening is important, getting close to the work is important to understanding it. It was nice to feel like I had discovered something that all the other passers by had missed. Of course this public placement raises questions about how Webb has considered the impact of a passing crowd, the act of placing work that invades the space is intriguing, its effect though is subtle, not brash, the work is gentle and soothing. This is no public sculpture – the sort that is easily accessible, Webb has utilised the entire structure, he has made the winter gardens sing.
Writer detail:
Dan Green is a second year fine art student at Nottingham Trent University, working primarily with sound and paint.
Venue detail:
Millenium Galleries/Winter Gardens
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