Black September - Christoph Draeger
Installation depicted the Israeli athletes taken hostage by a Palestinian commando at the 1972 Munich Olympics. At first I thought it was just an untidy room, but after a few seconds I registered the blood on the beds and realised I was standing on spent bullet cartridges. It was a horrific realisation, like I felt I shouldn't and really didn't want to be there. Communicating the idea of the impact and authenticity of the media during human tragedy and how violence, and the globalisation of images of violence are linked was very, very disturbing.
La Liberté Dévoilée - Gérard Rancinan
Using photography to mirror today's society, Rancinan updates classical paintings such as Delacroix's La Liberté Guidant Le Peuple to represent the modern world. Highly reflective surfaces makes you see yourself almost as if you are part of the story.
Occupations - Anselm Kiefer
Kiefer's series of self-portraits, exploring his own personal history and addressing nazism. They have lost none of their presence and power. It's weird how the subject matter is so grim and difficult and yet the panels are so beautiful. The greyness and heaviness of the lead itself, the rust and verdigris, the surface and texture are sublime.
…calling to me from the angry surface of some grey and threatening sea - Kara Walker
These are the words from my notebook: “inside the room, inside a forest of black trees. At the centre is a clearing, a framed vignette of a shadow puppet video. The scale is huge, the work totally immersive. The backgrounds are vibrant and keep changing colour. A mother? A child? Violence. death. amputation.rape.stabbing.necrophilia.burial. No sound, no words, the artificial becomes the truth. 2D becomes 3D. Art becomes real”
On the notice it warned that viewers may find this particular work offensive or upsetting. That really bothered me. Other works also spoke of war, genocide, weapons, killings, the oppression of people and the suppression of words. So why specifically would these shadow puppets, perhaps be found intensely provocative? I was moved to tears by them.
