All images:Christoph Ferstad
Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto (Half Modern, Half Destroyed) at Gillett Square
Through to -21 November, 5pm-1am
Site-specific public art is fascinating for the unpredictable reactions and audiences it generates. Its objective is not only to make art accessible to everyone, but also, and perhaps most importantly, to trigger a response or spark a discussion about the piece’s ‘intrusion’ of the space. Such was the case with the most notorious example of site-specific art – Richard Serra’s steel sculpture Tilted Arc (1981), set up in New York’s Federal Plaza and dismantled some eight years of litigation later on the grounds of alleged destructive effects of the work on the social functions of the plaza.
The same is true of the latest video installation by Hackney-based artist Larisa Blazic, Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto (Half Modern, Half Destroyed). The first site-specific work to grace Dalston’s Gillett Square following The Newspaper House (2008), Mezzo Moderno creates a virtual wall in the square with its colourful collage of projected images. The overall effect is mesmerising: out-of-focus green and red ribbons rustling in the wind create a hypnotic background to a succession of fragmented clips of East London urban landscapes rippling in the foreground. A testament to Dalston’s vivid character, these show, amongst other things, brick façades, Victorian chimneys, the Rio – one of London’s last independent cinemas, gasometres and, of course, the now ubiquitous cranes sprouting up in construction sites all over East London.
The driving force behind Blazic’s project is the desire to prompt a discussion on the astonishingly rapid regeneration taking place across East London, specifically in Dalston and its surrounding areas. Redevelopment here has been occurring at an unusually dramatic pace, particularly because of the 2012 Olympics: artists are gradually losing their studios – something Blazic experienced first hand, inspiring her to create the poignant 205A Morning Lane (2007) – and established cultural spaces, such as The Four Aces, are being knocked down to make room for yet more luxury high-rise developments, to mention just a few. An insidious question naturally arises: who is this regeneration really for? The local residents or for potential future residents the developers are hoping to attract?
In an attempt to put forth these questions, Blazic embarked on a collaborative project with members from two Dalston local community groups – the Hackney Age Concern Silver Surfers and artists from Studio Upstairs. The collaborators filmed on their mobile phones parts of Dalston’s urban environment that they found most interesting – in a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ way. These videos were then uploaded onto Blazic’s website, who, through the use interkomm, an open-source software programme designed specifically for the project, edited them to make a collage. The result is a captivating seven minute film on loop as well as a compelling artistic experiment, where the artist had no actual control over the footage used for her final product.
On the evening of the launch, Mezzo Moderno has already transformed the square, which now resembles any given piazza on a Roman night. The mood is genial as the three videos are simultaneously projected onto seven custom-made screens of different widths. The videos emanate warmth and seem to almost embrace the square, attracting numerous visitors – whether casual passersby or people who were already aware of the piece. A cluster of people settle on the steps immediately in front of the kiosk, facing the video and chatting away with friends; others sip mulled wine from the tables of Ochre Works café; children, by far the most interactive visitors, are instantly captivated and, typically, touch the screens and play with their own dancing shadows cast on the videos; passersby who are cutting through the square to get to other destinations are momentarily distracted from their immediate mission and pause to look up; others, in particular Dalston natives, pass by to ask the invigilators more about the project. A comment in the comment book reads: “This work is fabulous! So nice that it’s in the open air and not in a stuffy museum!”
Blazic’s work doesn’t cast judgement or condemn: it poses an open-ended question, to which perhaps there is no right answer. After all, Gillett Square itself is the result of the regeneration project the installation aims to address. Crucially, it gives a visual space to the people who live or work in Dalston to voice their opinion on the redevelopment taking place, as well as creating a veritable testament to Dalston’s spirit.
Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto (Half Modern, Half Destoryed) is curated by Emma Jones of HCD’s Gillett Squared Project, and is on until Saturday 21st November in Gillett Square Address: Gillett Square, Dalston, N16 8AZ
For further information please visit:www.gillettsquare.org.uk and mezzodistrutto.e-w-n-s.net
Ana Vukadin
