His exhibition at the Zabludowicz gallery left me a little confused as thematically it was a little all over the show and what some critics have dubbed "vomit art". Initially it seemed to me to be the worst of video installation art and trying too hard and too clumsily making a point. The technology was interesting and the user experience was too though so there were some points to be gleaned from the exhibition but subtle it was not!
On entering you are invited to kick-off your shoes shoes and sink into a giant ball pit and watch Manga imagery and what can only be described as animal costume bondage on a central screen. The user experience was fun and interesting but it all seemed a little gimmicky and there was no discernible correlation between the images and the viewing experience watching the video play out overhead. Manga children and a childlike ball pool but little else.
Another weird experience was shutting youself in a cupboard and watch the aftermaths of first person shooter video games with a philosophical voice over. Again the experience was stronger than the actual video work itself but the point of watching it in a cupboard was again lost on me. Hide and seek, children hiding away or hiding themselves away immersed in a game?
There were also many other installations along differing themes. Tight body hugging chairs while you are bombarded with varied voyeuristic images some of which are more like a series of you've been framed clips embarrassing the subjects. A childs bedroom is re-created and a made by kids sci-fi video with dubious special effects is screened. In both of these the setting up experience of watching the work is once again a stronger and more interesting element than the actual moving image work itself.
The centrepoint of this show is a maze filled with sculptures. You put on a (virtual reality) headset before being taken on a voyage. It combines heights and playing with space and is freeing and surreal, yet also a disconcerting experience and the stongest piece in the exhibition. It does make you question whether this technology will become increasingly prevalent as artists seek to make video art more interactive.
Jon Rafmans video work itself left me a little cold and was often and assortment of what looked like archive and sources clips, manga, news, home footage that either made little point of made a clumsy point. However the setting up of the work was really interesting ball pools, tight restraining chairs, cupboards and even a mock up child bedroom were certainly food for thought. whilst these are not ideas. I may pursue directly his consideration and thought for the audience "experience" of viewing his work and the interactive immersive of these are certainly food for thought.
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