Sophie Calle: Talking to strangers

Sophie Calle: Talking to strangers.




Name: Joseph Cerski
N0283060, Fine art.
Sophie Calle: Talking to Strangers

Upon walking into the Whitechapel gallery space in London the first thing I noticed was the bombardment my peripheral vision was receiving. I felt confused.

It would seem the curator was given a difficult task. Regardless of availability of space I still felt overwhelmed on the exhibit floor; Calle’s vast display of images, scripts and video was accented with my own sense of exposure. I didn’t feel at home right away, the piece itself battled for my attention and I didn’t feel a ’flow’ to the exhibition. Interestingly enough, walking around the exhibition I knew I was missing things, I knew I was skipping by things I should perhaps not have but I was being appeased by my sense of rationality. My senses were being tugged at, sound, vision and movement fought me as I tried hard to comprehend the provocative work. My initial thoughts told me to shut down and try to administer a new interpretation.

The exhibition consists of several film/video, sound and visual components which express various representations and interpretations of a break up letter Sophie Calle received from a former lover. The use of ‘varied’ media was one of the most obvious and outstanding factors concerning this exhibition; one of the most notable, for me, was a short film of a parrot ‘reacting’ to the bad news. The parrot was ballistic, getting gradually more and more angry as the clip went on. The parrot recited lines from the letter, chewed the paper the letter was written on and ruffled it’s feathers hysterically as if the parrot was the one being ‘dumped’. This video installation was tucked away in a corner suggesting that this wasn’t the focus of the exhibition, but in truth the honesty and almost human reactions the parrot had, was the piece that started to turn the initially confusing, overpowering exhibition into something I started to understand. That parrot spoke to me, it’s volatile reactions where the most earthed, it was honest and it was human, it started to put the other videos and text into context for me.

Given time to readjust and take in my surroundings I became the proverbial sponge, I took in the masses of textual commentary, studied and admired the emotional videos as well as appreciating the clever use of more exciting, unknown media such as taro cards. The exhibition became exciting, the bombardment ceased and a revelation sparked. The exhibition looks into human behaviour, although specifically relevant to Calle, the work speaks loudly about our actions and interpretations we make. Further artistic digestion led me to believe the curator and Calle had deliberately loaded the wall space to further comment on our capacity to handle bad news. The sheer number of different responses and interpretations, the barrage of media and the overloaded walls could be a commentary on her own confusion and dissolution at the letter she received. The interpretations act as a methodology of expressing that confusion; visual language cleverly being used to accentuate Calles own sense of confusion.

The exhibitions defining feature was how the works complemented one another. Specifically a video wall situated out of view upon entering the gallery. Walking either side into the main space and turning back on yourself you can see a large 34 screened video wall, one of which being a larger screen with sound. On each one of these screens played video footage of various different film ‘clips’ of different people reacting to Sophie Calle’s break up letter. This aspect of the exhibit was perhaps one of the most visually interesting, although the only one playing noise was the larger screen; the others contributed to the overall experience. My eyes flickered in anticipation between the screens, one soul media showing dancing, shouting, screaming, crying and more. This video wall was honest and passionate, for me it made subtle commentaries of society and further explained Calle’s reoccurring theme of human behaviour and our ability to handle bad news. The videos show a concentrated view into a darker, less glorified yet ever present part of our existence in society, break-ups and the ending of relationships and partnerships. Because of this intriguing aspect of our society I’m naturally drawn into this work, the darker underbelly of human existence is displayed so honestly for all to see in this revealing, bare all exhibition. Furthermore, despite the presence of various representational media and the intended feeling of initial confusion this piece really does work as a collective. I believe the piece aims not to make sense of confusion, but to illustrate that there can be order to confusion. Order, in this case, is brought to light through the successful unification of media to project a point or a feeling. Sophie Calle, we can only assume, was devastated. Receiving such a disjointed, confusing and rambled brake up letter probably put her on her head, but the process of identifying the confusion and trying to create clarity through professional interpretations, regardless of specific profession, is a step in the direction of deciphering the meaning behind it. These interpretations are invaluable, women from all walks of life, some who’s profession is directly linked to human behaviour and some experienced in the field have all offered their opinions and reactions as if they themselves were experiencing this great sense of loss. One of my other favourite aspects of the exhibition was a female rifle expert, through the simple action of shooting holes through the letter, she silently expressed her animosity towards the letter and perhaps even men in general. Honesty, good old fashioned human honesty is the most notable emotion amongst the ones I experienced at this exhibition. Some of the women seemed bitter, perhaps this has happened to some of them before; some seemed sarcastic, some seemed violent but these reactions were all human. Life can be a show sometimes, real salt of the earth human reactions are covered up, people don’t often open up and really express how they feel in a confining society. This exhibition was brilliant, I believe Calle was suggesting that it’s okay to feel confused and hurt, but it’s more important to show these feelings and express

Terra Incognita

Joseph Cerski

Critical Review: ‘Terra Incognita’
Specifically Kashif Nadim Chaudry’s work Titled ‘Harem’
Location: Surface Gallery, Nottingham.




Terra Incognita

physical qualities, the medium(s) used, the size of the work, its location etc. Are you going to review a selection from or part of the show? Why?

Newly installed exhibition ‘Terra Incognita’ occupies the project space at the top of the surface gallery. I intend to cover certain aspects of this exhibition in the review although I will primarily be focusing on work titled ’Harem’ by British artist Kashif Nadim Chaudry. Waiting at the door for the attendant to buzz us in already creates quite a personal and intimate feeling upon entering the gallery; then being escorted up two flights of stairs to the project space itself established a sense of importance for the viewer. Despite knowing full well this behaviour is mandatory and every one is treated the same the initial impact on the viewer is reminiscent throughout the exhibition. The tender, intimate theme was present during the course of my experience in the Surface gallery; immediately I was struck by arguably the most visually demanding piece of work in the room. ’Harem’ by Kashif Nadim Chaudry in it’s most basic form is presented as a colour wheel; what appears to be hundreds of different pieces of cloth and fabric laid out specifically in order of colour. This however was no ordinary colour wheel, as if they’re rising out of the floor draped in the fabric 6 figures emerge. Laid equal distance from one another with their heads in the centre of the wheel, feet around the outer edge the figures lay motionless. In the artist statement I collected at the exhibition Kashif states ’I have a great love for cloth and have collected over the years much fabric. The time was right I felt to purge myself of the vast repository but I needed something equally desirable to use as my canvas. And what better than six naked men, the perfect ingredients for a Harem!’# Although contradictory to my original thought that these figures may in fact resemble corpses# (due to being covered head to toe in material, like when bodies are covered after death out of respect) each one had an erection. So immediately the work swings into a very playful environment, accentuated by the colours and shapes the bodies make on the materials the whole piece resembles an alien like terrain. Every angle you observe the work the folds and bends in the material present a further unique encounter. On the artist statement Kashif states ‘Desire has never been so tangible’ referring to his work, this obviously is a personal viewpoint dependant upon your sexuality. For me this ties in excellently to the title of the exhibition; ‘Tera Incognita’ meaning ’Unknown Ground’. Despite it’s playful, harmless atmosphere it raises certain questions involving something as personal as sexuality, despite sexuality being grounds of uncertainty for some people Kashif has harnessed his own attitudes to sex and is openly experimenting with work which has the potential to make people uncomfortable. It openly questions people’s comfort within social boundaries, I for one think that this is an exciting piece of work; in today’s society something as widely discussed and experimented with as sexuality is a front runner as far as themes of work are concerned.

The work was presented on the upper most floor the Surface Gallery had to offer. This exhibition was an all round intimate encounter showcasing work from Kashif Nadim Chaudry and Emma Dexter. The one I found most interesting was Kashif’s work, this investigative piece was presented in a roughly 8 by 8 meter square space. The natural light in the exhibition filtered in through the near by windows giving each figure definition and the colours in the fabric a shine and purity, the work and the space complimented each other very well. The work correlates well with the three other features in the exhibition, Emma Dexter’s work has a significant man made element to it, each piece has an equally personal feeling around it linking it very well to Kashif’s piece ‘Harem’. She makes work described as autobiographical and is informed by her own experiences, ‘Terra Incognita’ is no different featuring thee works but I feel that her wall relief, ‘Darling in the Vein of Contra’, shares the greatest link to Kashif’s piece both in terms of context and location. Her work runs on the adjacent wall and shares the same playful and imposingly seductive element her exhibition partner Kashif has. All of the work has shared themes linking to ambiguity and vagueness; work based specifically on experiences or ideals leaves a narrative up to interpretation. My practise revolves around central themes regarding ambiguity, this work links particularly well with mine for a few reasons. 1) Covering, hiding and the way these actions compliment the narrative link strongly to my theme, specifically the mystery that Kashif’s work contributes. 2) The act of covering or not supplying all the information is something I’ve involved in my own practise. There were very few negatives regarding this largely delightful trip to Surface gallery. However I firmly believe the initial encounter with the work is uniquely different before reading the artist statement, the availability of the statement is perhaps one of the only criticisms or issues I have with the work. Being able to access this information pre informs you as to what the artists wanted to specifically communicate; in today’s contemporary art scene, where the freedom of interpretation is actively encouraged, is it appropriate to discuss one specific piece of work prior to seeing it? People may perhaps have not seen the work prior to reading the description, this obviously begins a trail of thought regarding the work before initial reactions have been allowed to manifest. Fortunately I encountered the work before reading the statement supplied by the artist; thus resulting in my own, uninformed opinions to present themselves.