I drove the backstreets of New Farm last night looking for a “gallery” where a two hour exhibition by a young artist friend – Yannick Blattner – was advertised to be from 6pm – 8pm. As the Director of a multi-modal art space [ http://www.jugglers.org.au ] at the other end of Brunswick Street [the “infamous” end] I thought a two hour exhibition was an interesting idea. After 9 years of exhibiting , we have reduced the traditional luxury of a three week exhibition to one week with a Friday night opening and the options of volunteers manning the space on Saturday and Sunday. A two hour gig intrigued me. It turned out to be a fine example of smart thinking by Yannick and the curating ARI – Inhouse [ www.inhouseari.com.au ] and a very hospitable family. Yannick’s installation –Yannick Blattner ‘It’s all gone Shane Warne: 708 wickets in one hour’ – was a smart use of space and data projection with the lounge room being the main site. Screen surfaces were one of the house’s verandah blinds, a lounge room wall and a large maufactured screen which was suspended to cover bookshelves. In the bathroom there was a cheeky installation of various still shots of Shane Warne -some rather irreverent – strategically hung at eye level [for male users of the loo!] and a recording of Warne receiving an award for the Hall of Fame – echoing from the shower! A fitting place for these insights into Warney’s life! As advertised, Yannick was going for a wicket taking record and the looped replay of him with some possible channelling of the master spin champion had voice over footage of Ritchy Benaud and other commentators making the “howzat” call. The other two films were less about the champion going for gold but of Yannick dropping ball after ball and of him rubbing the red ball on his crotch. These three cleverly edited films – and the bathroom installation – all made sense for me after I read the guest writer’s reflective piece on the installation. In a professionally produced and written work, Lisa Bryan-Brown describes Yannick’s concept and installation and unpacks the underlying themes around male identity in Australia including the clever juxtaposition of sport and art in the same room on the same night. The juxtaposition of these two activities that Lisa says “are considered leisure, and not work, by many” is part of the appeal of Yannick’s work. As one – and a male – who is intently interested in what our cultural values as male identity, this installation and written work have deepened my own inquiry and have motivated me to further reflect. The use of this pop up space for Yannick’s friends and family, and art lovers is no new concept and is the way of the future. As gallery hire and and government indebtedness increase, artists will predictably reinvent their way of story telling in spaces less white cubed, more accessible – guerrilla like! They will continue to get their stories out there so that their hearts and skills form part of the a desperately needed deepening inquiry into what makes us who we are and what we want to become. Peter Breen
Peteskibreen's Blog 