Rachel Khedoori
11 Mar - 07 Apr 2011
RACHEL KHEDOORI
11 March – 7 April, 2011
This is the second exhibition of Rachel Khedoori at Galerie Gisela Capitain. The current show presents three works – one in each room: ‘The Iraq Book Project’, 2008-2010, a video installation ‘Untitled’, 2010 and a sculpture ‘Untitled’, 2011.
'The Iraq Book Project', Khedoori's ongoing documentary piece, consists of a chronological compilation of news articles found online using the search terms 'Iraq', 'Iraqi' or 'Baghdad'. The articles begin on 18 March 2003, the start date of the Iraq war, and in theory, can continue indefinitely. Presented as a series of large books on tall tables, the articles are sourced from a wide range of news services based all over the world, translated into English and formatted to flow together seamlessly; the only separation between the articles is the emboldened lettering of the titles, date and source. The apparatus for continuing to compile the information is on display as well as the most recently compiled books on CD. 'The Iraq Book Project' is an attempt to find words for an indescribable event, highlighting the way in which perceptions of an event change depending upon time and place.
Throughout her artistic practice, Khedoori has interpreted landscape as a place where one's memories are stored. Khedoori's new film installation is a technically simple work consisting of a pan of an Australian landscape projected onto a screen placed at a 90 degree angle to a mirror of the same size. The point where the projection and the mirror meet draws the viewer in, giving the illusion of an image that is continually peeling away from itself. The doubling of the image caused by the projection and adjacent mirror is reminiscent of a Rorschach test, which has the effect of simultaneously morphing one's perception of the landscape and the film projection itself.
The third piece is a mirror model of a house that sits on top of an image from the film. The landscape is reflected onto the wall of the model. Architecture and environment seem to become one – more or less depending on the impression the viewer achieves from the different point of views. Surrounding and architecture become fluid and not tangible. The observer gets lost in an indefinable situation, but also becomes part of the artwork being reflected in its mirrors.
11 March – 7 April, 2011
This is the second exhibition of Rachel Khedoori at Galerie Gisela Capitain. The current show presents three works – one in each room: ‘The Iraq Book Project’, 2008-2010, a video installation ‘Untitled’, 2010 and a sculpture ‘Untitled’, 2011.
'The Iraq Book Project', Khedoori's ongoing documentary piece, consists of a chronological compilation of news articles found online using the search terms 'Iraq', 'Iraqi' or 'Baghdad'. The articles begin on 18 March 2003, the start date of the Iraq war, and in theory, can continue indefinitely. Presented as a series of large books on tall tables, the articles are sourced from a wide range of news services based all over the world, translated into English and formatted to flow together seamlessly; the only separation between the articles is the emboldened lettering of the titles, date and source. The apparatus for continuing to compile the information is on display as well as the most recently compiled books on CD. 'The Iraq Book Project' is an attempt to find words for an indescribable event, highlighting the way in which perceptions of an event change depending upon time and place.
Throughout her artistic practice, Khedoori has interpreted landscape as a place where one's memories are stored. Khedoori's new film installation is a technically simple work consisting of a pan of an Australian landscape projected onto a screen placed at a 90 degree angle to a mirror of the same size. The point where the projection and the mirror meet draws the viewer in, giving the illusion of an image that is continually peeling away from itself. The doubling of the image caused by the projection and adjacent mirror is reminiscent of a Rorschach test, which has the effect of simultaneously morphing one's perception of the landscape and the film projection itself.
The third piece is a mirror model of a house that sits on top of an image from the film. The landscape is reflected onto the wall of the model. Architecture and environment seem to become one – more or less depending on the impression the viewer achieves from the different point of views. Surrounding and architecture become fluid and not tangible. The observer gets lost in an indefinable situation, but also becomes part of the artwork being reflected in its mirrors.