Thank you Bill Viola
Having spent the majority of our Easter break painting and sanding cornices, doors and walls in our home, Chad and I believe it’s time to spare a a few minutes to share our last visit to the Art Gallery of South Australia.
It was Sunday 29 March and we were excited to view Trent Parke’s latest exhibition; The Black Rose. Trent is an Adelaide-based Magnum photographer. As we approached the front steps, we observed the black and white, draped banner to the left of Trent’s on the Gallery’s facade. “Oh look, Bill Viola’s exhibition is still on and today is the last day”, I said. “Let’s check it out too”, said Chad. And so we set off to locate the two exhibitions.
Bill Viola is an US video artist, considered a pioneer, who’s Selected works were on display throughout the 2015 Adelaide Festival of Arts. Chad and I eagerly attended one of the three venues who hosted Bill’s exhibition. As we set foot inside Bill’s first installation The Crossing we sensed cool air, darkness and a large projection screen in the middle of the gallery space. We waited a moment for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Here’s a stool”, said Chad. We slid our bottoms down and when we looked up, were met with the gaze of what appeared to be a middle-aged man walking towards us from afar in desolate surroundings, reminiscent of a moonscape, with limited parcels of passing light. The audio sounded each foot forward by the lone man dressed in neat, casual clothing. Where on earth, if he is even on this planet, is this guy and what is going to happen once he becomes in full focus, are questions that immediately sprung to mind. Despite this ‘man’ taking some time making his way to the foreground of the projected image, as viewers, we felt compelled to sit and wait, as if we needed to greet him.
The man eventually came to a halt standing tall before us. A small flame emerged at his feet. What; did he drop a cigarette butt or something? The flame was spreading. There were sounds of cracking, popping and soon loud bangs as a rolling wave of flames engulfed the unmoving man. Oh no, what did this man do to deserve such a fiery dissolution to his existence? Once the flames had disappeared, so too had the man. Poor bloke.
Now, as much as Trent Parke’s exhibition was a superb documentation of his heartfelt life journey, it was Bill Viola’s work which truly had us transfixed and accelerated our senses through sound and imagery. Thank you Bill Viola: http://www.billviola.com.