Several things have come together recently to create a moment of reflection – nearing the end of my final MA project, a Bridge (artists’ collective) meeting and the sad announcement of Christian Boltanski’s death. It has made me realise that some of the most profound pieces of artwork I have seen across the years have taken an installation type format and that has been quietly influencing the way I think about the development of my own work. Thanks to the pandemic it has not been easy to get some of these ideas to full resolution but I guess I could even think of some of my book objects as mini installations.
Many years ago I wandered into the dark and cool crypt of a church in Arles during the Photography Festival, I am sketchy on dates but it must have been the late eighties. I don’t remember if I was aware of Boltanski’s work beforehand, I suspect not, but the work had a profound effect that has stayed with me from that point onwards. The lighting was very low and around the spaces were trailing wires, small lamps and what looked like tin boxes with slightly blurred faces looking back at me. It was powerful, eerie and deeply moving.
We all die twice – once when we actually die and once when no one on earth recognizes our photograph. Boltanski
My next significant encounter with an installation piece was The Sound of Silence by Alfredo Jaar at Fabrica (Brighton) in 2006. In the centre of a deconsecrated Church was a large metal room, inside the room church pews were arranged in rows facing a projection screen. A series of texts appeared drawing you into the story of Kevin Carter and the Bang Bang club. Then in a surprising moment the screen flashes (I think I remember some kind of noise) and the fateful image of an emaciated child with an enormous vulture standing nearby appears. It was heart stopping.
Speaking of the piece Jaar said:
It is a lamentation. It’s a poem that asks about ethics of what we (photojournalists) do when we shoot pain. Jaar
More recently I have been introduced to the work of Chiharu Shiota. While I haven’t seen her work non digitally yet even via a screen her approach and interests have echoed with me.
Originally, I thought that if I die, everything about me is going to die, but now I know only my body dies – not my mind. Shiota
As I turn to the multiple elements of my final major project I am acutely aware of the effort, passion and sheer tenacity of those involved with installation based work. I am grateful to those artists who have impacted my own thinking and interests.