We live in a reality where fake news and manipulated images abound, and the exchange of words is split up in closed echo chambers. We have learned that not everything is necessarily as it appears at first glance. This is precisely the exciting theme of the exhibition “(Everything Is) Not What It Seems” at the Nitja center for contemporary art. The exhibition embraces 18 artists from different nations who in different ways explore art’s ability to seduce, fascinate and distort. As I read the rather inaccessible wall text at the entrance, I think that it is a little ironic that an exhibition that is about what we cannot grasp and what can easily be misunderstood, is appeased in such unclear language. Optical illusion Many of the works are telling enough, however. One work I think is quite amazing is “Timekeepers” from 2015, created by the Slovenian artist Meta Grgurevič. She has specialized in various mechanical, kinetic sculptures. In the exhibition, she has placed a large hourglass against a curved mirror. The concave mirror surface gives the illusion that the sand is defying gravity and flowing upwards. In addition, it makes us believe that the hourglass has three glass spheres instead of two. VIEW: Meta Grgurevič has created a small piece of engineering art with his “Timekeepers” (2015). Here she shows us how much faith we have in what we see, and how deceptive the sense of sight actually is. Here, Grgurevič actively challenges our experience of both time and space. Photo: Nitja We must consult the beautiful bifurcated shadow to understand that we have allowed ourselves to be deceived. When the sand has cleared, a small electric motor reverses the hourglass, so that everything starts again. It is a fascinating experience to stand there in the dark and see how reflections and light challenge our experience of what it is we actually see. Ghost city Another project that fascinates me is French artist Vincent Ceraudo’s “Paris City Ghost” from 2015. A black-and-white drone film depicts a depopulated urban landscape. It is the city of Tianducheng or Sky City, which is a surrealist postmodernist architecture project from 2007. Here, parts of the French capital have been recreated, with entire neighborhoods in neoclassical style, and with replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, and the Eiffel Tower. The film is based on drone photographs, which also refer to surveillance. It is a strange experience to hover over this city which is so familiar and foreign at the same time. A thick fog floats between the anachronistic buildings and strengthens the dreamlike experience that characterizes the film. WRONG PLACE: There is a strange dreamlike atmosphere in Vincent Ceraudo’s film. It shows building elements taken from Paris, but which are obviously in a completely different place, under completely different skies. Photo: Nitja Interesting and enriching The exhibition’s most eye-catching work is undoubtedly the Slovenian artist Andrej Škufca’s “Synthetic Zero”. In terms of form, I don’t particularly like the giant sculpture. It is chaotic and flowing. But I can’t deny that it has a rather raw and fierce expression. It is made of a plastic-like material and curves through the room. The sculpture resembles a large oil pipe that has collapsed, or melted metal elements. Perhaps the installation refers to a technological reality that is so advanced that we don’t really have the opportunity to understand how things are connected. BRUTAL: Andrej Škufca’s “Synthetic Zero” has something raw and brutal about it. The press release states that Škufcas himself is concerned with the Dark Web – the dark shadow side of the fantastic world wide web. Photo: Jaka Babnik Or perhaps it is a picture of the pitch-dark shadow sides of the great communication circuit, like the black bowels of the information society? Some of the works in the exhibition fit in perfectly with the obscurely formulated but equally exciting theme, while other works appear somewhat more out of place in the overall picture. Nevertheless, I find “(Everything Is) Not What It Seems” to be both an interesting and enriching exhibition. I hope the inaccessible communication will not drive people away, because the exhibition really has a lot of interesting things to offer. news reviews Photo: Nitja center for contemporary art Title: “(Everything Is) Not What It Seems” Place: Nitja center for contemporary art, Lillestrøm Date: 20 August – 25 September 2022
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“(Everything Is) Not What It Seems” on Nitja – Reviews and recommendations
