seven walks

Railings films

Presented in a darkened room off to the left of the entrance hall.

A very dark room!

Even with the projection screen it was very difficult to make out dimensions or contents of the room.

Impressions of heavy, red velvet curtains.

Realised later that there were a few chairs - very difficult to make them out in the darkness…

A series of 3 or 4 short (1-2 minutes) films shown back to back. Not sure if these are the complete works or excerpts.

Stills projector

Love it!

Complete contrast to the cinematic experience of the railings films.

Projector bolted onto bottom of the stair bannister; a single chair facing into the corner; small white rectangel painted onto the curve of the opposite wall; stills of previous projects by the artist.

Stairs

Knotted string hanging down centre of stairwell.

Different knots describe different actions (eg turn left, cross the road). Framed codex on one of the landings explains the meaning of each type of knot.

Schoolchildren on stairs looking along the string, working out what the journey was.

First floor

Felt a lot busier. Perhaps because of the smaller room sizes (not just because of the school trip that had arrived!).

Guards film

A second blacked-out room showed the Guards film - scheduled half-hourly showings with the doors closed during the film.

Lights are on as you walk in so can see how the room works:
Period chairs (about 20) in about three rows. Lots of space between the chairs;
Screen is recesed into a fascia wall;
Free-standing speakers on tripods.

Clock outside gives time of next showing.

The bit that I don’t know how to call it

Was this a room or a hallway? I can’t remember.

Several small tables piled with folders and maps and drawings.

Various projects, including some older ones that I think were precursors to Guards.

Bit of a jumble, but felt accessible and worked well to describe the processes.

Night Watch

TV in corner with 2 chairs.

Sofa and coffee table (with reference materials) by window.

Also a photographer with tripod, bags etc pointing a telephoto lens in through the doorway!

Room worked well as a whole whilst still communicating that this work was really located at the portrait museum.

The kitchen

There was a kitchen that looked like it was being used by the staff, but it also housed another projection. Can’t remember what the work was though.

Strange experience to just walk into the domestic setting, prop myself up against the cupboard, and then look at soem art!

General

Whole setup quietly bucked the conventions of a white-cube gallery without feling drastically radical or controversial.

A welcoming atmosphere.

All the peices of work sat comfortably within the space.

I felt satisfied that I had seen a sizeable body of work and that enough of the workings of the residency were transparent.

I was not left feeling that I needed more information.

I was not left feeling that I had been swamped with too much information.

It worked!

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments are closed.