Finding interesting ways of presenting video-art is never easy. Lisson Gallery's summer exhibition, 'Performance/Audience/Mirror', aims to step away from the 'uncomfortable chairs in a dark screening room' concept by reaching outside the walls of the London gallery through a programme of live, online screenings designed to provoke world-wide debate. This virtual element 'not only allows global access to the exhibition but also highlights the democratic nature of film while calling into question issues facing artists who work in this discipline', explains curator Emma Gifford-Mead.
The show's title is drawn from Dan Graham’s 1977 performance of the same name, at De Appel Arts Centre in Amsterdam. Contrasting the web screenings, the exhibition also makes use of an intensely intimate, gallery-bound viewing installation, in the form of Graham's 2001 work, Greek Meander Pavilion, Open Shōji Screen Version, where the 'audience' third of the exhibition is held. The pavilion shows a range of films from the 1960s to the present day on a screen encased between two-way mirrors and Japanese-inspired shōji panels. Films can be viewed from inside or outside of the pavilion, along with any gallery-goers who might be exploring inside – so audience members become an integral part of the viewing experience, as opposed to those who might be watching at home on their laptops.
The latter two sections, 'performance' and 'mirror' are more traditional in layout, but they feature some of the exhibition's real gems. These include the UK debut of a darkly comic claymation, Worship (2016), by Swedish duo Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, and the rarely seen SPEAK. by British conceptualist John Latham – a psychedelic, ten-minute snapshot of the 1960s.
The show contributes to London's recent love-affair with technological, performative art (think of Whitechapel Gallery's 'Techtonic Superhighway' or 'Performing for the Camera' at Tate Modern), but also follows an increasing number of exhibitions that include a virtual element, like Bruno Ceschel's app-based photography interactions, and The Supermarket's online gallery space. The result is a winning mix of personal, intimate performances and web-friendly progression.
Graham's pavilion creates an intimate sculptural environment to explore the significance of architecture and space in film, while allowing the audience to more actively engage with the works on view. It is here that the 'audience' section of the show is based. Pictured: installation view of Greek Meander Pavilion, Open Shōji Screen Version, by Dan Graham, 2001
Pictured: a still from Performer/Audience/Mirror
The latter two sections, 'performance' and 'mirror' are more traditional in layout, with darkened screening rooms favoured over two-way mirrors and pavilions. Pictured: installation view of Vexation Island, by Rodney Graham, 1997
One of the exhibition's real gems is the UK debut of a darkly comic claymation, Worship (2016), by Swedish duo Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg
Installation view of The Hunt, Christian Jankowski's 1992 performance video piece.
Installation view of How to Appear Invisible, by Allora & Calzadilla, 2008
The result of the show's keen curation is winning mix of intensely personal performances in a web-friendly setting. Pictured: installation view of Telematch shelter, by Wael Shawky, 2008
INFORMATION
'Performer/Audience/Mirror' is on view until 27 August. For more information, visit the Lisson Gallery website
ADDRESS
Lisson Gallery
52 Bell Street
London, NW1 5DA
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