exhibit reviews:
Transpop, YBCA
San Francisco, CA
by Tonya Warner
In the Beginning, CJM
San Francisco, CA
by Tonya Warner
The Dead Forest, Total Kunst
Edinburgh, Scotland
by Rea Cris
articles:
The Dead Forest
Total Kunst
4 - 18 January 2009
Edinburgh, Scotland
By Rea Cris
The Dead Forest is compromised of a room filled with pine trees of varying height and decomposition, nothing more, nothing less. But 'forest' is not the correct word to use for this piece. When walking into the room, it does not feel like you have walked into a forest that has been placed within a box. The trees are not upright, rather, they flop over randomly. Despite how tempting it is to jump into the pile, the room seems strangely empty as it is not filled to the brim with ex-Christmas trees, but rather seems like a forgotten store room, where trees are kept till next year's use. The feeling is desolate and empty, the trees thrown any which way; one tree is completely brown and needleless, others are wilting. On the other hand, the smell of the pine trees is overpowering and becomes a physical demonstration of packaged Christmas cheer and joy.
This is an anonymous work, which might be a good thing as I think this exhibition is trying too hard. It is laden with innuendos and overdone, when it could have achieved something much simpler. When elephants sense they are about to die, they all instinctively travel to a pre-designated area which becomes their graveyard; Dead Forest seems to be the Christmas tree version of this, but nowhere near as thought-provoking. The fact that this exhibition started the day after the significant date of Epiphany in the Christian faith (the celebration of God in the human form of Jesus Christ, it is sometimes considered back luck to have your Christmas trees up after this date) is so obvious as to be underwhelming. I wonder what difference this piece would have made if they had staged it in the summer? You come away from this exhibit either feeling nostalgic for Christmas already (brought on more by the smell than the sight of the decaying trees) or you come away feeling a bit like the trees themselves.
Total Kunst is the exhibition space of the non-profit, volunteer run café/organization, Forest Café. The space hugs the colourful and animated café and is visible from the street, which sometimes surprises or shocks passersby with their exhibits. Total Kunst is an artist-run space and anyone is allowed to apply to exhibit.
http://www.theforest.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=79