Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
16 June – 2 September
Reviewed by: Cassie Thompson
So you think you are the audience? Think again! The three artists involved in this exhibition (part of the Japan 2001 event taking place nationally) state their intention as being to remove the 'please don't touch' limitation often enforced on visitors to art galleries. They hope to break down cultural preconceptions by creating as much interaction as possible – between audience, work and artist, and between Japanese and British culture. All the works on display are visual in some way, yet most encourage us to engage one or more of our other senses. Thus there are pieces such as Miho Suganami's Whispering stone, a small rounded piece of stone whose delicate sandy texture begs to be stroked. A soft voice emits from a hole at its centre, against which the viewer must place their ear to make out words or the sound of the sea. It is as though the artist is trying to communicate to us what the raw materials originally communicated to her. Toshie Ise T's Optical theatre – memory of the shadow goes even further, forcing us to interact with other gallery visitors to create an image that is a momentary collaboration between viewer and artist. Similarly, Yukiko Tasaki's interactive installation Translation 3: Having a bath invites visitors to share the relaxed feelings associated with having a bath. The visitor's sensory experience is further heightened by the sounds of Yukiko Tasaki's Translation 4, a video work in which visually impaired people share their aural and tactile experiences of the world. The great thing about 'Come Closer' is that it encourages us to enjoy the gallery experience rather than feel that we must earnestly consider the work from a respectable distance and in so doing, the show manages to engage a wider audience – something many supposedly more worthy exhibitions could learn from.
Writer detail:
CASSIE THOMPSON
is a writer based in nottingham.
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