2-Way Mirror Cylinder Bisected By Perforated Stainless
Steel by Dan Graham is the curious
outdoor pavilion that currently obstructs the seductive courtyard of the
Bluecoat chambers. Evocative and engaging, this piece discusses the
psychological effects of architecture on the viewer, challenging their
perception and comprehension of both interior and exterior spaces. Graham
approaches the biennial theme of Hospitality through an exploration of how public spaces can either seduce
us or alienate us.
There
were several attributes of Graham’s piece, which were reminiscent of other
works that I had seen during the biennial. The fact that it is public pavilion
made it evocative of Doug Aitken’s The Source; both pieces are on an
initial encounter, architectural and have a dialogue with their surrounding space.
On the other hand, I also it possessed some parallels to Oded Hirsch’s The Lift and its mirrored surface
was a conspicuous similarity. However, on a more profound level I feel both
Hirsch and Graham’s pieces have one distinct parallel – they both initially
appear to lack logic and meaning, but through the context in which they appear
and the way that people react to them, they become intelligible. The
mirrors within the pavilions also recalled a major theme inspired within the
Kohei Yoshiyuki exhibition that I had attended a few weeks ago, as the
unexpected reflections produced by the piece’s mirrors explore the voyeuristic
act of watching oneself and others simultaneously. This theme of voyeurism was
central to the photographic pieces by Yoshiyuki, which currently reside in the
Open Eye gallery, also as a part of the biennial.
Stepping
into the pavilion myself, I felt extremely uncomfortable and trapped, but then
again I have never been partial to confined spaces. What caused me the most
apprehension was the feeling of being physically constricted but at the same
time, because there is no roof, being able to observe the boundless vastness of
the sky above me. It was as if the piece had took away some of my physical
freedom, but simultaneously allowed me to observe the limitless space that
existed outside of the pavilion. It was as though I was being tantalised by the
piece, as I was able to observe a boundless degree of physical space that I did
not at the time possess. The whole experience left me feeling rather
disorientated but it had thus clearly opened my mind to the physiological
effect that architecture and space can have on my own being. The mirrored
surface of the pavilion prompted further contemplation of my form and how it
inhabited the space. What I had ultimately drawn from the piece was that it has
a conspicuous centralisation around ‘self’ and how one is physically and
mentally stimulated by tangible space.
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