Simon Pummell at Seventh Gallery
If you want to see how Simon Pummell used 3-D effects to explore technology, psychosis, and society, then go see his exhibition 'The Sputnik Effect' at Seventh Gallery. Pummell is internationally renowned for his works with moving images. This exhibition accompanies Pummell's feature film 'Shock Head Soul', playing at the MIFF which I have yet to see.
Besides having recently watched 3-D movies, this was my first art exhibition which supplied 3-D glasses for viewing. In the main space, there are framed prints of jellyfish-typewriter-like hybrids, or 'Writing Down Balls', floating in space (see above). My favorite piece is the video projection in the back room. The video is a combination of animation and CGI modelling. A naked bald man is contorting and changing shapes on a floor. This reminds me of Julie Rrap's 'Fleshpool' (2004) . There is something haunting in Pummell's video piece with the grunting sounds combined to the 'Writing Down Balls', in 3-D, emerging from the screen right to the center of the room. The show is about madness meets science-fiction and has been inspired by Daniel Paul Schreber, author of 'Memoirs of my Nervous Illness (1903)' and the early typewriter, the 'Hansen Writing Ball' (1865). I'm not familiar with the art of making video animation and CGI modelling but I like how Pummell challenged the boundaries of 2-D works on paper and on video.
