Vision321

Anthony Douglas Cooper, Gabi Dao, Oliver Husain, Chang Yuchen
 
January 20 - February 18

Organized by Hearth


Open hours:
Saturdays and Sundays, 2-5pm
and by appointment

Vision321 is an installation exploring themes of surveillance and theatrics, layering and integrating an on-site performance directed by the concept of convergent evolution with a constructed installation. Hearth presents artworks mediated by a perforated structure; viewable from an area which itself has been the site of some peculiar things…



PLO: Theatricality, drama, and humour were three main aspects of the project for me personally. From the anthropomorphic bats to the off beat prompts that guide these performances, the artworks are a stage set but so is the viewing area. We hope that you, in watching it all from the peripherals as the third layer to this viewing experience, might enjoy the curiosity, confusion, and glee that encouraged us to arrange this strange offering. In developing this project, we brainstormed ideas until one made us laugh.

RL: The works face and perform towards you. You face and perform towards them. This has happened in this space before, you can see. We discussed ideas around convergent evolution leading up to this project; the idea that the demands of existing will lead different organisms down the same corridors. This has taken place in the differing formation of the wings of bats, bees, and birds, for example. Here and now, we will all need to contort ourselves the same way to get a look.

SM: gather around the peephole on this frosted chilly nite, warm up next to me, we’ll keep each other safe and sound as we share a view through the sinister porthole... a porthole that will show you darkened forests and cold bodies, swagged out bats and animal skins... disturbing sites which are sure to stay mired in your mind, chilling your bones and frightening you to your core. come sit beside me and feel what i feel thru the ****hole, twist me around and turn me upside down, what is it about this show that makes me oh so scared and bothered...

BDB: Last October, a package showed up at my door addressed to Ella. No last name. I held on to it because maybe it was just a mistake and they will contact me to come get it. But packages kept coming for the next three days, one each day. I left them to sit in the foyer of my home for a week before I opened them up. Ella received a pair of battery-powered electric heating socks, a blue plastic child’s smartwatch for tracking physical activity, a purple g-spot vibrator, and a budget security camera. My feelings towards this situation, which at first possessed only the warm aura of a scam, crept towards a curious low-level paranoia. Each gadget coaxes you to play but the occasion of their arrival coerces me into a state of discomfort. I’ve tried to use them in one way or another but whenever I do I just think about Ella. I now understand that Ella was invented by some businesses to complete a full transaction, allowing them to generate fake reviews of their products. Maybe this show is my review? Regardless, I’m dedicating this show to Ella who provided me with the concealment of a symptom as a method.



Photo documentation by Hearth