|
Paulette
Phillips: Danielle Arnauld Contemporary Art by Roy Exley A strong forensic thread runs through the five video installations that make up Canadian artist Paulette Phillips' exhibition "the Secret life of Criminals." The narrative traces of the events depicted in these videos suggest traumatic undercurrents. Coaxing the viewer into the role of detective, these works compel us to pay attention to their details, in case we miss a vital clue. The Floating House (2002) oscillates in its mien between the real and the simulated. One minute we see a model of a house floating in a lake, slowly sinking; the next minute we are sucked in to a catastrophic event as the lens zooms in to experience the trauma of inundation. All the works in this show have emotive hooks that seduce us into a suspension of disbelief. Something strange is happening to us at a road intersection in Crosstalk (2004). The viewer becomes identified with the camera as it looks out from a scene of...what? A crime? An accident? A performance? Passing pedestrians turn to stare at us. What bizarre event are we involved in? This staged video has a Jeff Wall feel but transcends Wall by implicating the viewer in the action. Instead of being voyeur here, we have become the object of the voyeur's gaze.
|
|
|
