19 August 2012

Jo Ellsmere, Pyewacket Kazyanenko and Giovanna Cerise at Split Screen

Before the month of August winds down, take time to venture over to Split Screen, curated by Dividni Shostakovich, for two exhibitions—Pardon Our Zeitgeist by Jo Ellsmere and Pyewacket Kazyanenko, and Synesthesia by Giovanna Cerise.

Pardon Our Zeitgeist, shown in the top two images, is a remarkable automated performance that repeats every 15 minutes. Using two characters, the work explores online communication and relationships, but what's really amazing to me is the level of detail in the movement that Jo and Pye were able to capture.

Synesthesia is, as one might expect, a powerfully colorful artwork. Giovanna mentions both the work of Kandinsky and Scriabin as central to the piece. Knowing the impact synesthesia had on Scriabin (and other composers, notably Messiaen), I anticipated something where sound and color were on equal footing, and found myself a bit frustrated trying to clearly hear all the local sounds in this installation. Towering above is a Promethean figure—be sure to get up all the way to the very top. If you'd like to read more about both these pieces, head over to Dividni's blog, where you'll find links to excellent reviews by Quan Lavender and arklo.

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