The Ikon Eastside is an additional art space in Digbeth, a branch of the original Ikon in Brindley place a few miles away. It's a small space and only open from Thursday to Sunday, but plays host to talks and innovative art exhibits as well as Birmingham's amazing Flatpack Festival (see link below). At the moment, RAQS Media Collective from New Delhi are showing their work 'When the Scales Fall from Your Eyes'. In the warehouse sized room was a number of everyday objects - sofas, desks, fridges and other appliances - painted white. On each object was the exact same glass cast of a suited human torso, topped with weighing scales for heads, acting as vessels for various objects ranging from surreal to mundane.
The room, although not crowded, was comfortably filled with these creations and lit by a circular, gentle light about 6 foot across that slowly changed colour. The effect was truly beautiful, and I appreciated the work more taken as a whole rather than examining each piece individually. When I did so, I felt the work was not so strong and even looked a little shoddy, as the white paint was unevenly applied to some of the objects.
According to the literature provided by Ikon:
'When the Scales Fall From Your Eyes is devised to encourage a contemplative practice of considering 'muchness'. ' I can't say I felt it dealt with this effectively and seemed more of a study in the surreal or fetishism. Judging from the albeit cliched title of the show, I can only assume I was supposed to see some truth beyond our consumerist existence. I didn't. I enjoyed the work aesthetically but felt it failed in its message.
A couple of streets down from Ikon Eastside is Eastside Projects. As well as the similarity in name, Eastside's current exhibition is supported by Ikon and, like the RAQS Media Collective work, also explores modern life. Joanne Tatham and Tom O'Sullivan's show is called 'Does your Contemplation of the Situation Fuck With the Flow of Circulation?' The title is take from a Jan Verwoert text.
The work itself featured a large, cubic tunnel, painted white on the inside and with an abrstact pattern in pale pink, white and black on the outside. On one side is a wall decorated with a pale green pattern that bears posters that state 'Ecstacy kills'. On the floor are crudely rendered white outlines of maps and other objects I couldn't identify.
The work, is in some way a reflection of contemporary messages (in reference to the posters) but similarities have also been made with our current economic slump - the word 'circulation' perhaps referring to money. To be honest, I didn't get it. I read the interview with artists I was given when I went in, I still didn't get it. Sorry.
I also didn't like the space much, it was odd how the space was without boundaries and the work is very much dependent on the gallery itself, but from a more pragmatic point of view, I had trouble working out where the art ended. I found myself thumbing through some interesting publications displayed, then thought that perhaps they were part of the piece and gingerly put them back. They do, however, have an amzing office area constructed and the guy at reception was really helpful.
LINK ATTACK
Ikon Gallery - with pictures of exhibit
Eastside Project
Flatpack Festival - Awesome film festival in Birmingham
