Pipilotti Riste has managed to create an exhibition within the Hayward gallery that even a gallery novice would struggle to not enjoy the immersion of soothing tones and bright colours of the videos that merge within the different spaces. ‘Eyeball massage’ encompasses over 30 of her pieces all of a variety of dizzy, colourful, buzzing colours and lights.
An assortment of erotics, subversion and innocence appear to encompass the gallery. She uses different sizes and scales distinctively within the gallery space. As the viewer we are put in a position where we are made to feel smaller or bigger than in fact we are. One such miniature objects that we tower over is ‘Selfless in the bath of lava’. It is so tiny within the gallery space that I very nearly missed the video. A woman cries out help within what appears to be a hole within the ground. It was disturbing having her below my feet, which Riste of course heightens through the woman crying out for help and pleading with us in different languages. We have to crouch so close to the video to hear and see it clearly that it causes an intense, powerful feeling. We appear gigantic and yet helpless through her desperation of us to rescue her. Riste exaggerates this powerlessness through the woman being naked whilst I remain clothed above her and eventually have to walk away and leave the pleading woman.
Shifting perspectives are used in her exploration of the human body. Riste celebrates the human body as a central theme to her exhibition. She appeared to want to break free from the social and cultural taboos. ‘Mutaflor’ is projected on the floor and which we move around; unsure of which way we are meant to view the video. The naked artist looks up and opens her mouth. It feels like she encompasses and swallows us, in which we enter complete darkness. The darkness merges into the artist’s anus and then the journey restarts. The video shakes up taboos and as it is so difficult at first to work out what is occurring within the video we watch the video for perhaps longer than we would if had known straight away what the work contained. Watching people’s reaction once they realise the details of the video simply supports Riste’s theory of these social taboos. I saw many a disgusted face once the video sunk in.
Some of the works did not appeal as much as I would have expected. The tiny LCD screens that are hidden within handbags and shells were not as interesting or appealing as some of the more immense work. However the main blend of such rich primary colours and earthy bursts of sexuality and feminism led for the exh8ibtion to capture my attention instantly and the soothing qualities allowed the exhibition to have a certain relaxing and warming quality.
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