Intervals at the Barbican
After the exceptional popularity of the Rain Room, the Curve at the Barbican is showing Intervals which opens tomorrow. It is a new installation by internationally acclaimed Turkish artist Ayşe Erkmen, who represented Turkey at the Venice Biennale in 2011.
In this new installation, a series of scenic backdrops move up and down at random speeds leaving the viewer lost in between two scenes as if stuck on the stage. Visitors walk through the various scenes made of painted cloths. The subject and style of the cloths painted by scenic artists and theatre design students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama are diverse and include a seascape scene from the operatic production of Ariadne, a map of the Mediterranean region, a stage curtain and eight other colorful scenes.
During our brief conversation, Erkmen explains that she specifically chose the order of the scenes to give some logic to the journey, starting from the notion of space and ending with the notion of time. The two are indeed interconnected and notwithstanding the absence of sound, there is a rhythm that follows the division of the space. There is a pause between each scene and during each interval, the viewer experiences a new environment. The diversity of the scenes creates a feeling of disorientation. In which story are we actually playing?
Intervals can be seen at the Barbican until the 5th of January.
