February 7, 2013
There is a voice of a probing interviewer asking the artist what his exhibition is about played via an audio recording in the gallery room. This show investigates the politics of space during a recession, in the style of a documentary.
The art piece in question, namely ‘Round Bar of Wood’, is displayed near the entrance of the gallery room almost despite the exhibition. The art has proved immortal outliving all the headaches that went before it, as documented by the correspondence that surrounds it. The show is life-affirming and meditative. Perhaps the most telling are the ephemeral postcards with carefree messages scribbled on the back; once a personal, timely throw-away medium, now preserved as something new for a wider audience to read.
Letters, photographs and artefacts that document the journey of a Round Bar of Wood, made by the artist Andre Cadere, are mounted on the walls of the gallery. The time frame of correspondence is between 1972-1978, a period notable for economic recession. The hope in the eyes of the artistic groups gathered in the photographs is lifted literally by this long pole fashioned out of colourful sections of wood that constitutes the body of work from the artist.
The dozens of notes on display bravely show the politics of the art world. However, Andre Cadere’s show is universal and this could be the display of politics from any world where there is competition, desire and ambition. The lofty ideals of the gallery space are balanced against the miniscule details, like wording the art brochure front page correctly, in this story-telling of how his work is mounted.The art piece in question, namely ‘Round Bar of Wood’, is displayed near the entrance of the gallery room almost despite the exhibition. The art has proved immortal outliving all the headaches that went before it, as documented by the correspondence that surrounds it. The show is life-affirming and meditative. Perhaps the most telling are the ephemeral postcards with carefree messages scribbled on the back; once a personal, timely throw-away medium, now preserved as something new for a wider audience to read.