‘IF YOU DON'T LOOK OR ACT GUILTY YOU AREN'T'
Visual Art >I<
Ilit
THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
Big brother is watchingmemm
Alexander Kennedy sees and is seen as he inhabits Silicone a stunning new interactive multimedia work from David Rokeby
n the Mist ten minutes ol' experiencing I)a\id Rokebs‘s work at (ilasgow's ('(‘x\. I atn ‘taken‘. "dismased'. ‘intrigued btit resistant‘. ‘trotibled'. ‘xtweuristic' and then 'comineed'. So the randome generated adiectises tell me. words that appear I'loating abm e the image ol' m_\' disembodied head tltat has been
recorded. ‘Taken'. b_\ tlte cameras. in the installation ol‘
the same name. ‘Some \iewers are troubled b} seeing their image iii
the work. others are seduced.‘ sa_\s l)a\id Rokebs‘ ol‘
his interactis e multimedia show Seeing sotirselt in the work goes be_\ond the Usual sense ot' identification that one I‘eels \\ ith a character or subject in an artwork. You are the artwork. to a certain extent. a form that lloats through the artist‘s composition. being shoVed about aitd labelled b_\ his oserall sense ol' order.
This work is also a comment on the (‘(‘T\'—moderated world we now |i\e in. of course. where we are I'ollowed. recorded. and labelled as a threat or not. We are ahead) assumed to be guilt} in the (‘(‘T\' world. We need watching: the signs ol‘ our guilt are written on our bodies through our actions. II‘ sou don't look or act guilt}' _\ou aren‘t. (As I skulk through the galler} with m_\ hood up. I assume I look \er) dodg} indeed; ask the galler} attendant who followed me). But Rokelws's work is not as theoreticall} or as I‘ormall} barren as it appears on paper. The \iew er is instantl} attracted b_\ the seductise oranges and pale blues of the bisected screen of ‘Taken'. as sou I‘ollow _\oursell about on the red screen and then see stitii'sell' in a mugshot on the blue section. .-\s I lease the roont and peer behind me I am told that I am ‘still intrigued'. and I am.
The artist has espertly utilised the space of the largest galler}. In ‘Seen‘ the wall juts out like the prow iii a ship into the rectangttlar room. with l‘our screens of \isttaI inl‘ormation hitting the View er right between the eses as _\ou stand lacing the work straight on. Iiootage I'rom Venice‘s I’ia/Ia San Marco is recorded and projected in four different \HI}.\. tour dillerent \‘iC\\‘s ol' the same historically land aestheticallyl rich area (it land. Stationar} constructions buildings. monuments. coloured pa\ing stones etc 7 remain as solid. looming presences. Iiigttres passing through the space lease coloured \apour trails behind them. or is it bel’ore them‘.’ The bod} is deconstructed into layers ol‘ smoky colour. aureoles ol' anti-lorm projecting bel‘ore and behind an imagined bod)’ w leasing histor} behind it and walking into a predicted future.
The body is almost totall} erased in gallery one. where '\'er_\ Ners'otis Ss'stem' records the surliace of your bod}. translating it into rattling. scraping sounds — the sounds ol' the edges ol~ the body banging oIT insisible drawers ot‘ cutlery and buckets ot‘ nuts and bolts. This is the first programme that Rokeb} created in the 80s. and is here in a format that ptits the tactile thaptici ox er the optic. As I stand. the foreboding sound of bears material being dragged over a flat surface lills the room. Iiach more and twitch becomes imbued with symbolic sound. .-\s I reach into in} satchel I hear the rattle of a hea\_\. expensive ('hannel bracelet. ()h. it‘ only.
Silicone Remembers Carbon, CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 15 Sep 0000
iii David Rokeby: Sillcon Remembers Carbon See review. left. CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 15 Sep.
3?: Roderick Buchanan: Histrionics A series of works, by Glasgow-based artist Roderick Buchanan. examining the city's sectarian divide. Buchanan uses photography and film to demonstrate the similarities between both sides (Catholic and Protestant). using his own personal history as a way of understanding the long history of hate that still runs through the city. Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Sun 28 Oct.
iii Sally Osborn: Oh Ha Hmm The Glasgow-based artist‘s work explores painting from a sculptor’s perspective. and vice versa. where the qualities inherent in a material are used to complement and deconstruct the potential of another. Her work fluctuates between representation and abstraction, which mirrors her use of contrasting materials. Glasgow Sculpture Studios, Glasgow, until Sat 15 Sep.
‘37 Gurtler and Ewen: A Few Lucid Moments New work by JR Ewen and Olivia Gurtler, the duo behind the new gallery space at the SouthSide Studios. Gurtler's work explores ‘action sets roughly put together, staging conflicts. motion and conflicting perspectives' while Ewen's fabric-based compositions take women's costume as their inspiration. exploring the legacy of the shaped canvas. The Fridge Gallery, SouthSide Studios, Glasgow, Sat 25 Aug—Sun 2 Sep.
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