Liam Crockard: Slapstick / Callum Schuster: In Finite
Installation view of Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Courtesy of O’Born Contemporary
Having visited the O’Born in the past to view Edith Maybin’s “The Girl Document,” I was pleasantly surprised to be thrown off by Schuster and Crockard challenge the concept of the “white cube” gallery by creating two absurd/surrealist realities in the front and back galleries. When I claim that these artists challenge the white cube, I mean this in the sense that they are not aiming to solely highlight the formal qualities of a work of art or the effacement of context. Instead, both artists call attention to the space itself and the context of the gallery. For instance, upon entry, I was faced with Liam Crockard‘s strategically placed common-place objects such as, geometric mats on the walls, intertwined wooden frames on the floor as well as a TV monitor, bookshelf (filled with books), and a wooden bench with rolled felt mats underneath it. The word “slapstick” is defined by Merriam Webster as “a [low-brow] comedy stressing farce and horseplay.” In light of the definition, it was quite a fitting title; we can walk awkwardly around or through the space just like Crockard’s humorous and absurd video of featuring amateur martial arts practices shows, or we could remove the books from their shelves. Moreover, the installation has the potential to be quite therapeutic.
Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Photo: Leanne Simaan
Installation view of Liam Crockard, Slapstick. Photo: Leanne Simaan
Liam Crockard, Slapstick, video. Photo: Leanne Simaan
On the other hand, Callum Schuster’s In Finite presents sculpted faucets and leakage that are immovable. In addition, being an immobile sculpture, the flowing stream of water is static.
Installation view of Callum Schuster: In Finite. Photo: Leanne Simaan
According to Schuster, his installation acts as an exhortation to spark dialogue within the gallery space regarding the simulation of an imaginary world made tangible. In essence, the installation urges us to understand that what we are looking at is a simulation of an imaginary world, rather than a reality, even though it exists – and we experience it – in real time. My initial reaction fulfilled the artist’s intention. I contemplated its meaning and concluded that the back gallery transformed static space, a white cube, into a surreal world that allows our imagination to run wild, with infinite possibilities. Personally, I imagined a Kentridge-like flood, which can be seen in his 1994 animated short, Felix in Exile.
Installation view of Callum Schuster: In Finite. Photo: Leanne Simaan
Together, Slapstick and In Finite present their audience with a breath of fresh air by challenging us to think and act outside of the box, even if it gets a little awkward.
Leanne Simaan
*Exhibition dates: August 24 – 30, 2013, O’Born Contemporary at 131 Ossington Ave. Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 – 6 p.m.