“You get what anybody gets – you get a lifetime” – Brief Lives: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
I first came across Christian Bolstanski’s work when looking into the Echigo -Tsumari Art Field in 2012. His work No man’s land captured my imagination – a massive pile of clothing installed in a school square with a claw like crane raking up bundles.
Reading more about Christian Boltanski’s work I didn’t understand why it was said to reference the Holocaust specifically. It was great to hear him in conversation with Andrew Frost tonight at Carriageworks, disputing such fixed interpretations of his work. Mr Boltanski’s understanding of how our own personal history and circumstance influences the interpretation and creation of all art, illustrates the mutability of all ideas and thoughts through time and space.
His current installation at Carriageworks Chance illustrates this perspective well. Some will find it pessimistic, with the self lost in a whirlwind of the crowd, but others may find it reflects the collective spirit of humanity. I suggest you check it out yourself to see how you see it, I’m heading back there another time to see how I see it then.
Through the looking glass 