#an exploded view

Cornelia Parker at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester - My review. Cornelia Parker’s latest exhibition at the Whitworth, is a meticulous compilation of junk and science - there is no doubt that the artist has an uncanny understanding of physics, and of astronomy, for that matter. (Cold Dark Matter: an Exploded View. 1991) I should really start with the atmosphere when you walk into the installation – first off, it doesn’t feel like an installation at all. Quite deliberately Parker skews our perception of time and light, the dimly lit space is filled with shadows and we are made to walk around the piece as it is hung in mid-air, in the centre of the room. We are able to see every little thing suspended in the space, which is quite honestly, quite supernatural. There’s a definite shift in gravity and it plays on my spatial awareness. You find yourself walking very slowly, as though you could disrupt the moment so easily. The phenomenal piece is simply a garden shed, caught in the moment of its explosion – physically suspended shards resonate the symbolic suspension of time. What I found most interesting was the use of the tiny lightbulb suspended in the centre of the shed- projecting shadows outwards, foretelling of the mess once that moment was over – shards and debris flying everywhere, an uncontrollable chaos! When discussing with fellow artists her underlying meaning to the piece some felt it was suggestive of our need for hoarding – our obsessive need to hold on to something whether it holds sentiment or is simply junk. Others argued that it was representative of time and the forces of nature and science when they are brought together. And both, I feel are very true, if we look at Parker’s fantastic piece in its simplest terms it is indeed, just junk – donated goods (toys, junk, old clothes and tools) put inside a shed and destroyed. If we take a more scientific approach, this debris has been destroyed, caught in a nanosecond and is meticulously reassembled over and over – this obsessive act is representative of our compulsive need to have things, but is made over and over, with such precision that it is representative of science, the perfect blend of chaos and the exact. Cornelia Parker’s exhibition runs from 14 February to 31 May 2015. Free entry.