▽ DAN GRAHAM

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.