On display @ Irish Pavilion, Istituto Santa Maria della Pietá, Venice, Sat 4 June – Sun 27 Nov
Visualisation is a compelling psychosocial concept which seems to find itself growing in relevancy and applicability each day. From the data visualisations featured in science festivals to the suggestion that kids need to be more in control of how information is presented to them, visual aids are becoming essential to cultivate our altering perception patterns.
With this in mind, Corban Walker, the artist who has been selected to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale, will have the opportunity to foreground the importance of visualised interpretation with his three new, site-specific sculptural installations at the most prestigious international showcase for visual arts. Presenting his work at the Irish Pavilion, located at the Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Walker’s traditional artistic style of constructing from industrial materials will juxtapose the fragile nature of how we learn, process and apply data. Focussing on this interrelationship between the self and infrastructural environment, Walker’s unique, delicate creations often house the spatial grandeur of contemporary architecture whilst mingling with the tranquil vulnerability of nature.
Walker seems intent on iterating a contextual significance to this installation, rather than a solitary, visual objective
His main sculpture, Please Adjust, is constructed out of 160 interlocking stainless steel cubes which will act as the centrepiece of the installation, while his second and third pieces Transparent Wall and Modular “consist of vinyl “drawings” mapped onto the front and back windows of the space according to mathematic modulars”. It’s this aesthetic horizontality, of defined and pointed figures, which metaphorise the technical, formal nature of the economic and business arenas that frame how culture is controlled. Whilst still retaining a level of artistic freedom which challenges our perception of how industrial sculptures are interweaved, Walker seems intent on iterating a contextual significance to this installation, rather than a solitary, visual objective.
In collaboration with the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, the project is part of a wider initiative called Culture Ireland (which hopefully is an impassioned projection of Ireland’s artistic dexterity rather than an ironic demand). The scheme seeks to create and support “opportunities for Irish artists to present their work at strategic international festivals, venues, showcases and arts markets”, and is sadly part of the now fractured glimmerings of light which keep the artistic vision in the UK aglow. Amidst the backdrop of the Arts Council England cutbacks, which has seen many smaller, project-based companies completely scrapped, it’s a chance for Walker to represent a liberal, European vision which will contrast the broadening shift to the Right in euro-politics. So as important as the actual installation will be itself, no doubt featuring innovative design aspects and venerable manufacture, it’s the context of such an event which seems to dominate its welcome.
For further coverage see the Irish at Venice App for iPhone, iPad and the Android Market. The app – Corban Walker: Ireland at Venice 2011 is free to download and contains information on the Irish Pavilion as well as a personal description of the work by the artist.