From the āThick Timeā exhibition the piece that grabbed my attention the most was Kentridge’s piece based on his production āLuluā. After experiencing āThe Refusal in Timeā I walked up a set of stairs, pushed open the door in front of me and saw a small stage, surrounded by a sea of chairs. Coming from the grand, overwhelming scale of āRefusal in Timeā to this piece could almost seem disappointing, however it grabbed me instantly. The stage was illuminated by a projected image, with the artwork shown in typical Kentridge style, rough ink drawings. In front was a machine, with 2 pieces of wood dangling from string. And to my amazement as the video started these pieces began to dance along the stage, the once stagnant images coming to life. These completely inanimate objects had suddenly became characters from the play, able to portray a whole range of emotions.
Seeing this piece āin the fleshā for the first time truly gave me an experience I doubt very much I could get from a picture in a book or a video on my computer. Even though drawn images it truly felt like the play was happening in front of my eyes, with the all the drama of the real thing. As I was surrounded by people all sat together to watch it it further heightened my experience as I could imagine sitting in a theatre, everyone around me experiencing the same feeling of awe that such emotion could be portrayed from two mobile pieces of wood.
Bibliography-
Blazwick, I. and Breitwieser, S., 2016.Ā William Kentridge : Thick time. London: Whitechapel Gallery.