When I went to see the Pipilotti Rist exhibition I didn’t know what I was going to expect, all I knew was that the exhibition started outside. With underwear hanging from cables in a washing line fashion, flapping uncontrollably in the wind, it became obvious then that Rist’s exhibition was going to be like no other I have seen before. Stepping inside the exhibition was like going into another world and dimension. With a chandelier of underwear greeting us as we entered, I couldn’t help feel as if I was looking up some ones skirt. Rist engages with a very personal piece of clothing which covers a very personal part of the body and yet manages to transform it into something quite humorous. Rist explains: “This part of the body is very sacred, the site of our entrance into the world, the centre of sexual pleasure and the location of the exits of the body's garbage.”
Looking at around the exhibition, it became clear that we had stepped into a world that reflected consumerism. With projections and visual instillations spread across the space and flooded with bursts of colour, Rist balances her artwork on a curatorial level through presentation, yet shocks the audience with unthinkable works and instillations.
What I enjoyed most about the exhibition was the little trinket like instillations dotted around the exhibition. There were so many things to see and even if you went three or even four times afterwards you would still find something different and find something else to watch. I liked how you could interact with the exhibition, by walking through different materials and looking in different spaces, angles and directions, even lying down on gigantic cushions. It seems that it is important for Rist for the audience to see the work from different angles and views, creating an overpowering and sometimes intimidating piece.
What makes Pipilotti Rist special from all other instillations and film artists is the way that she uses the space. She has cleverly interlinked each piece of artwork in the space, however, she has separated them so that they can only be heard when you are up close to them or even by putting your head into a different space.
With Rist’s flamboyant and exotic presentation, she has created a very clever and testing instillation. From both a curatorial and artistic perspective, personally, it is one of the best exhibitions I have been to in a long time.
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