The exhibition starts with non-uniform
ticking sounds, a striped black-and-white wall and a huge "MOTHERS"
neon sign rotating above the viewers. A sofa, without much sense is placed
covering half of the entrance. At the beginning, everything is quite puzzling,
though the pamphlet distributed helps aid our comprehension. Before proceeding
to the next room, you stop to reflect: do I accept this as art?
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| Martin Creed, "Mothers". Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Click here for image URL |
Stacks of chairs and boxes, a door that
opens and closes on its own, farting sounds, a broccoli, and fully painted
sheets of paper with a single pen, are on display. The pieces resemble doodles
or experiments children would do in a spare time, not very elaborate, yet
usually playful and colourful. Soon, after some time getting used to the idea
of Creed’s work, the viewer’s inner-child starts to identify with the works.
Many of the themes are explored further through the choice of different
materials. The repetitive stacking techniques vary from Lego blocks, to chairs,
nails, or cactuses show consistency in his making.
Once you are done on the first floor,
make sure to take the lift instead of the stairs, though exercise may be good.
There is a tailor-made work by Creed in it. Going up, musical notes increase in
tone, with timed intervals, until you reach the second floor. Going down is the
exact opposite. This work maps how the artist enjoys the idea of scales, and
play with directly related objects in repetition. Though in the case of the
elevator, the viewer may remind himself or herself of a “Looney Tunes” cartoon
scene where characters are falling to the ground or even building up towards an
exciting action.
The installations on the top floor of
the gallery are the highlight of the exhibition, and the queue for the
hair-raising balloon room does not contradict this statement. As the viewer
walks through Half the Air in a Given Space, they see the balloons that
fill up the space of an entire room statically sticking to the long hairs of
the young or old. Moving through it becomes slightly limited; the air-filled
containers push and support you simultaneously. One cannot simply stop
laughing. It is most definitely an enjoyable ride! The outside pieces show a
wall made from different types of bricks, a car that works by itself, and a
video of a penis moving. These illustrate the maturity of Creed's practices by
embracing what people perceive as immature.
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| Martin Creed, "Half the Air in a Given Space". Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Click here for image URL. |
As you are prepared to leave the
exhibition, you pass through a room with a projection of either a girl vomiting
or pooping. Two very uncomfortable scenes which you would probably ask to erase
from your mind. The reactions towards this room are quite varied. The people
who read the sign containing a warning about the films, some may choose to stay
or flee through to the exit door. The ones who don’t notice the sign, will
probably sit through the screening until they notice the actor’s excrements,
responses like laughter, eye covering, and running towards the exit are all
acceptable. By then, you question, what's the point of all of it?
