From Sharne Wolff
Energy exists in a variety of forms be it radiant, chemical, kinetic and so on. While much energy is invisible it’s readily convertible into other kinds and back again. Drawing on scientific theory, the occult and philosophy, collaborators David Haines and Joyce Hinterding have sought over many years to harness, transform and reveal the wonders of unseen energies. This first major survey of their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art features a selection of the artists’ collaborative projects together with a number of each artist’s solo works.
During this immersive exhibition, visitors are able to experience a complete absence of sound by entering the elaborately constructed Telepathy 2008 – a bright yellow echoless chamber with a dark futuristic interior. In the original catalogue essay (found on the artists’ website) Andrew Murphie likens the experience of this work to that which “renew[s] the experience of a different organization of thought, one found not only in dreams, but in a courageous rethinking of material structure itself as the basis for dreaming differently.” Other works include the newly commissioned Geology 2015, inspired by a visit to the earthquake damaged Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. In a double-height gallery, an amplified interactive cinema experience is projected at very high resolution. Using “computer-game technologies and a Kinect system for gesture-based interaction” the work delves into natural and supernatural 3D worlds visible through portal-like cracks in Geology’s landscape.
Until September 6
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Pic: David Haines and Joyce Hinterding Telepathy,2008, panorama interior view, custom anechoic acoustic tiles, 16 mm plasterboard, acoustic blanket, plywood, timber frame, 3 small monitors with transmitters. Image courtesy the artists and Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney © the artists. Photograph: Michael Myers
