Ellie Murphy PIPILOTTI RIST

The human body is central to Rist’s work, and also likes to influence the physical movement of people in relation to her works. There was projections onto the floor, ceilings and walls which was overwhelming as you stepped into the space, and almost made you feel like a child; a growing child trying to absorb and learn from the great and forever moving world around you.

As well as overwhelming, I felt almost slightly uncomfortable whilst viewing ‘Suburb Brain’- The suburban bungalow was set in such a way that felt abandoned, eerie and worryingly still. The dim lighting inside of the house windows as well as the dark surrounding space of the gallery, in combination with the noises of the children on the projector reminded me of a paedophilic scene, making me feel very on edge. The surreal projections of the children added to this, as their plate of food was set on fire. The childlike vibe continued as I stepped into the second part of the gallery, whilst having to climb through plastic to get through to the piece, crouch on the floor, put my head through a hole and look into boxes as though a toy.

The experience as a whole seemed very surreal, and couldn’t completely understand in particular the feature film ‘Lobe of the Lung’. The film didn’t quite make sense to me, and looking up at the overwhelmingly large screens, again felt as though a child trying to understand and adapt to the world and atmosphere around them.