Walk into Peter Nelson’s latest exhibition Extensions of a No-Place and you walk into another world, or more precisely, the ‘no-place’ of the title.
This no-place is a place beyond the vanishing point, the horizon line, the picture plane – where perspective breaks down and an infinite series of possible worlds and interpretations opens up to both the artist and the viewer. In his latest work, for example, are we looking at a blueprint for the internet or a map for the inside of our heads?
Nelson has conjured this intricate and idiosyncratic, invented landscape through a series of large-scale drawing panels, sculpture and video installation. The architectural nature of the drawings suggest a futuristic urban landscape; the dissonance between each individual plan suggest the mind of a town planner gone mad. The potency of these images stems from the way in which they evoke familiarity and mystery simultaneously. This feeling is elicited through very different means in the large plexiglass sculptures which are animated by a video projection, creating the effect of someone walking through an endless architectural landscape on the gallery wall.
Nelson has created a series of fascinating works perfect for a world that exists anxiously between the virtual and non-virtual experiences of place.
From 29 May.
Flinders St Gallery, Sydney.
61 Flinders St, Surry Hills.
Pic: Peter Nelson, Extensions of a No-Place (Sculpture 3). Courtesy the Artist & Flinders Street Gallery.
