Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Reviewed by: Gareth Evans
Andrew Kötting is one of the UK's most intriguing artists, and perhaps the only contemporary film-maker who could be said to have taken to heart the spirit of visionary curiosity and hybrid creativity exemplified by the late Derek Jarman. Formally exploratory and aesthetically innovative, like Jarman, he is also a great collaborator building a community of shared interest around his various projects, while anchoring his prolific production in an ongoing report on the lives of those closest to him.
These traits are all evident in Mapping Perception. Four years in the making and incarnating as an installation, experimental documentary, book and CD-ROM, it is an ambitious research initiative, family essay and poetic treatise on consciousness; made in collaboration with curator Giles Lane, neuro-physiologist Mark Lythgoe and Kötting's daughter Eden, who was born with Joubert Syndrome – a rare genetic disorder leading to impaired brain function. Here, she is both celebrated and investigated in an enquiry into notions of dis/ability, the diverse qualities of different communicative languages and the nature and limits of perception and sensual awareness. Science meets art and a substantial dialogue ensues, exploring in great depth the issues raised for both disciplines by open-minded and creative exchange.
The book and accompanying CD-ROM embody this shared journey, offering a series of essays, image sequences and fragments covering all aspects of the aesthetic and scientific territories in question. A mock-up of Rembrandt's famous Anatomy Lesson provides the gateway into writing and diaries by Kötting, Lythgoe and Professor Richard Gregory, while the CD-ROM almost mirrors the brain's own constitution, with its lucid links and routings through numerous contextualising platforms. An exemplary undertaking of great precision and reach, it is finally most remarkable for the generosity and love it shows, to partnership, imagination and most importantly, a daughter.
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GARETH EVANS
is a freelance writer and film programmer
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