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| Four Thousand Blocks, Three Channel Video, 23:40 |
The
highlight of the show is the video, shown in the back of the gallery. The
screen on the right shows footage of typesetter’s letter case, to the left is
of a darkroom in which the artist develops photographs, and the center screen
contains footage of the artist’s journey towards understanding the mystery of
remaining of the lighthouse. Ga is clearly interested in archival aspect of
obtaining as much information of the remaining, with the aid off archeologists
and natives of Pharos. In
the center screen she uses a light-box and lays down transparencies of drawings,
photographs, documents and other ephemera collected in Alexandria. In a way, Ga
is trying to emulate the idea of a myth by layering images over each other. The
central screen is like a storytelling device, and at the same time a diary
entry from the use of both personal and historical memory.
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| Right screen of Three Channel Video |
While Ga narrates in the central
screen, she continues to insert letter into the letterpress holder constructing
text on the right screen. In the
beginning of the video, Ga tells the story of Thoth, the Egyptian god of
wisdom, the inventor of writing and measurement of time as a lunar deity. The
legend entails a dialogue between Thoth and the King of Egypt concerning
Thoth’s invention of writing. He claimed
“it will make humans wiser and improve their memories”. The recipe for
memory has been discovered. The
king replies, “ What you have discovered is not the recipe for memory, but the
drug of reminding. With your invention they will be taught, but they will not
be wise.” Alongside the video in the gallery, Pharmakon, a letterpress on paper is a text of the dialogue between
them and a brief description of Thoth. Accompanying the piece, Projector Harbor, a gelatin silver print
of dice, which also depicts Thoth invention of magic and dice. Adjacent to the photograph is the work It was Restored Again, which consisted
of two slide projectors showcasing text and iconographical images of the
history of Pharos of Alexandria.
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| Projector Harbor, Gelatin Silver Print, 2013 |
The
theme of translation is evident in every piece in the exhibition especially seen
in the three-channel video. Firstly Ga narrates about the various symbols that
were carried on from ancient Egypt to ancient Greece. Secondly, the site in
which the ruin once stood was a place of translation translating the bible into
Greek. Thirdly, in her video, Ga conducts interviews with Egyptian archeologist
in which translation became a problem.
Ellie
Ga’s interest in lighthouses branched from her past work The Fortunetellers. In that work she began to trance the etymology
of lighthouses leading her back to the island of Pharos in Egypt. Ga’s
obsession with archives and the use of mythology, philosophy, and archaeology
is entwined in all her pieces. During her voyage to Alexandria, Ellie Ga
learned a volume of information and through her experiences she reveals a vast
amount of hidden history to the art world.
I liked this show a good deal, It seems like we've been to a few galleries with artist that are engaged in this research project practice (Emily Jacir I'd say could be another) however I can't really tell if you liked the work or what your concluding judgement on it is. I think it might help to lead through the review the way the gallery set up the works starting with projector, then the three smaller prints/photographs and finally the video installation that translates the bits of information from those pieces into her larger exposition. As another structural note, I think you introduce the three channel video in your introduction and then again in the same paragraph. or at least it feels that way.
ReplyDeleteI think there might also be something more you can pick up from the works although i'm not sure 570 words is enough to lay it out here along with the other points you've made. Something about the methods of visual communication and faults of translation there in the photograph of what looks like fabricated dice and the white on white print that describes a myth especially since the left and right channels of the video show the process of both. (although I'm not sure its these actual pieces, i tried to pay attention to the letters she picked out but I dont think I could)
I also really enjoyed this show. I liked the austerity of the physical works next to which the video looked juicy and seductive (only by comparison). Anthony is right that there seems to be a rash of artists who are dealing with themes like, research, archive, the documentary. It might be interesting to say a little more about whatever this need to preserve might be. I found the video of the letterpress block to be riveting. I thought that all your points about language, communication, and the difficulties therein were extremely on point.
ReplyDeleteThere was something very bizarre about this show: On the one hand every time I tried to figure out reasons for some of the elements exhibited, I felt that there were a few unnecessary things. But when I was thinking of a show without them, it seemed even worse. The hypnotic quality of the video with the letterpress was very interesting. The boom of the research/identity art, has to do I think, with the need to identify as an individual within homogenized cultural landscapes, the internet, globalization etc.
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