Grandfather Clock: Maarten Baas

Whilst wandering around the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this weekend i stumbled across this grandfather clock... it's a video installation by Maarten Bass which appears to have a man inside it who draws the hand s of the clock to mark the time. insanely cool.

James Lambert: Look and Learn

James Lambert's video art installation at Sketch on Conduit Street is awesome. Kind of like David Shrigley on an acid trip; simple little bird like creatures (drawn in a 1970s-esque block colour palette of mauve, orange and black), dance, bob about and busy themselves to a schizophrenic but seriously fun soundtrack (at least that's what i heard when i was in there)  in a video collage of individual scenes that are projected on  to the top rim of the walls - a bit like an oversize cornice. super cool.

Look and Learn @ Sketch is on until14th Feb.

Why Don't You Love Me?

It is quite impossible to say HOW MUCH I LOVE BEYONCE'S LATEST VIDEO, Why Don't You Love Me? How could you not, indeed, love her in that get up, which pretty much epitomises how I'd like to dress if i a) had a hairdresser and stylist to hand to primp, preen and curl me every morning b) had the legs. in the unfortunate absence of either, i make a not inconsiderable nod to the 1940s and 1950s (high waisted sailor trousers and scarves in my hair the latest obsession) - but clearly i have some catching up to do on the underwear front. strangely enough, Tesco, yes Tesco, are doing a range of 1950s siren-inspired underwear this summer - screamingly cheap and insanely stylish - think big pants with printed front panels (colourful leopard print, a rose motif), and bra tops which have serious support and extend down reaching somewhere between the waist and the usual body strap of a bra, with matching printed panels. sound heinous, look deliciously sexy, trust me. basically exactly like Miss Knowles is sporting here, a la Betty Page. Available from June, they promise me.

Mat Collishaw: Retrospectre

And so, it seems as if my prejudice against video installation is being attacked from all sides: i went to the PV of Mat Collishaw's Retrospectre at the BFI and it turned out to be a video installation. and, again rather shockingly, I loved it - or at least i thought it was pretty affecting and i didn't want to kill myself while i stood to watch it, despite the fact that i'd just walked through a hurricane to get there, wearing high heels and flimsy mac, which speaks volumes, trust me. Drawing upon themes taken up by the late Georgian/Armenian film director and artist Sergei Paradjanov (1929 – 1990), who i have to confess i know precisely zero about but there's a BFI season in honour of, it's an incredibly theatrical installation - it's emotionally claustrophobic and almost has the feeling of a ritualistic sacrifice unfolding in front of you, through the impactful, sharp and aggressive cacophony/melange of life, death, pain, sacrifice, nature's fiery temperament, fear, agony and beauty, depicted via a montage of images of animals being killed, birds of both prey and pride, volcanic outbursts etc. the above picture poorly indicates the sculptural composition of the piece, but it gives an idea of the architectural puzzle of ornate mirrors, gilt bird cages, Gothic window frames and grand altar pieces, the panes of which (be they mirrors, glass or opaque) make up the screens for the video projections - from the outset there's an idea of images being framed, the artifice of the project, and the poignantly visceral exhibitionism of it. am i becoming a convert to video? who can say. i'm rather unsettled by such a the prospect at any rate, but maybe i should just go with it. Hmmm.

Mat Collishaw in Conversation
Tue 13 April 18:10 (tbc), NFT3 £5

Paradjanov Symposium
Saturday 6 March 11:00 – 17:00,
NFT3 £15.15, concs. £11.15 (Members pay £1.40 less)

Factum Kang

From the series Factum 2009

Edition of 5

Dual-channel installation: 2 hard drives

Duration: 69 minutes 10 seconds looped

This exhibition, which i only ended up going to because i was so let down by the William Eggleston (see below) and wanted to find something halfway good to see, turned out to be INCREDIBLE. spontaneity can work in my favour, as it turns out.

normally i hate video installations, and my heart initially sank when i walked through the doors of White Cube, but the pieces on show were fascinating, completely compelling and mischievously provocative from the first moment you stepped into each darkened room.

Artist Candice Breitz filmed 4 sets of twins and one set of triplets (i didn't have time to see the latter, but i'll definitely be going back) - each twin for up to seven hours. During filming, she made each twin wear the same thing, and sat them in the same position. she asked them exactly the same questions. after transcribing their answers she then edited each set of twins' narratives, running them together into a film of about an hour - but with each twin kept separate from the other: the videos of each sit side by side as in a diptych (above) with the narratives/answers of each twin inter cut. Thus the scene is set for comparing their responses and thus their personalities, mannerisms, manner of expression, from where you are able to see how they create both an individualised sense of self and a joint identity. each set of twins explore different issues through a discussion of the things which have had a profound effect on them during their lives - be it fanatical religion, marriage, tattoos, sexuality (one set of twins are both lesbians), parental bullying... they also obviously cover what it is like to be one half of a whole - one set of twins describe it as like a sexless marriage: they even took photos, for an art project, of their wedding to each other: a sort of macabre inevitable union they cannot break nor would want to. the whole thing is wholly absorbing, darwing you in with its devilishly fascinating exploration of identity and also portraiture - it's a sort of horror, but also wonder to watch. as each video is one hour i obviously only watched each one for a bit, as i imagine would most people. one could, in theory, pop in to the gallery again and again and catch different parts of the film that would illuminate both the artistic and personal story in different ways. [or, as i've just discovered, you can watch some videos via her website...]. stilll i'd definitely recommend going.

Candice Breitz: Factum

Candice Breitz

12 Feb—20 Mar 2010
White Cube, Hoxton Square