Isabell Spengler solo-screening
co-presented by Pleasure Dome and Feminist Art Gallery (FAG), 09.07.2011
co-curated with Carly Whitefield
The work of German artist Isabell Spengler forces a merging of realms, the fantastic and the ordinary. Sometimes it is the characters that are the aliens in our world, navigating urban and pastoral landscapes with their colourful eccentricities; other times it is the environment, bubbling with personality where there should be none. The creatures of Permanent Residents adapt to the mundane, their evolved bodies mirroring the chores and errands they perform: a balloon inflates as a vacuum inhales, disco balls spin with the wash cycle. Excitement hides in plain sight, it belongs. The serene Lantouy glimpses a secluded grotto where the water breathes bubbles and whispers magic. It is nature from another planet, yet familiar enough, and welcoming.
An interesting counterpoint to Permanent Residents, Psychic Tequila Tarot explores the space between self and other, and its collapse. In her yacht‐sized, trinket‐filled car, Leila, a sparkle‐lipped nomad in full arcane regalia, cruises around offering passers‐ by her unique brand of fortune‐telling services. Appealing to the spirits (both metaphysical and liquid varieties), she presents her clients with a mirror in place of an answer; she becomes what they want her to be. Critical of Leila’s precarious immersion in the public realm, Isis secludes herself in a white, light‐filled room of interactive, intuitive screens, delighting in the sole company of an especially frisky canine.
Programme:
Permanent Residents, 2005, 9:32
LINT LENT LAND, 2009, 9:00
The Natural Life of Mermaids, with Nancy De Holl, Alice Könitz, Jennifer Sindon (Holiday Movies Initiative), 2004, 10:26
Lantouy, with Daniel Adams, 2006, 6:47
Transformation in the Land of Enchantment, with Alice Könitz & Corinna Schnitt (ADFA), 2003, 5:37
Psychic Tequila Tarot, 1998, 24:00
*Programme notes available here.
Permanent Residents, 2005
LINT LENT LAND, 2009
The Natural Life of Mermaids, 2004
Lantouy, 2006
Transformation in the Land of Enchantment, 2003
Psychic Tequila Tarot, 1998