Open Air by Chris Caines

Open Air by Chris Caines - Artists Talk - December 3rd, 2011

I went to the Open Air Artists Talk today to hear video artist Chris Caines speak about his current exhibition at the Mosman Art Gallery, which is part of the Festival of Mosman. The work is comprised of a video installation, in The Cube at the gallery, and also a locative iphone application, "Open Air - Locative Audio Essay" which you can view and listen to whilst walking along the path at Sirius Cove, to see the views from the Artists Cove. (I've also used the app at home, so if you're not in Sydney, then you can try it remotely too, but obviously the locative parts won't be the same.)

Once you enter The Cube, the videos and audio starts playing. The videos are displayed in a gallery case, so the viewer can get an intimate view of the moving images by looking down into the case. The Light is amazing, and the colours so rich and vibrant, even with the subtle, delicate blends as Caines adjusts the video by looking forwards and backwards in Time - into the Past and into the Future - to create his video paintings. I think he has captured the light of the works of the Masters in this piece. There are twelve images displayed, which shift throughout time, traveling from the country to the city, as the viewer sees glimpses of both man-made and natural scenes being combined into a modern art work.

There's a soundtrack playing whilst you watch the videos - made from a collection of field recordings from the sites where the images and videos were originally recorded. The effect of listening to the soundscape and gazing on the video panels finding fragments of reality and images in them is quite mesmerizing and reminds me of watching shapes form whilst watching the clouds go by. I felt so relaxed after watching the videos - it's almost like waking up after a dream where you've been watching colours and shapes drift around - there's definitely a dream-like feeling to the work. Footage was recorded over a five year period, and covers the Beauty of the Australian landscape and city-scape. The overall work is stunning - the light and clarity of the video is something to behold. I took a few video clips and photos, below, which don't obviously do the work justice, but are for documentation purposes - you really need to see the work in situ to appreciate its true beauty. Thank you to the Gallery and Festival for including video art in this year's programme.

video:
(raw video clips)

Open Air by Chris Caines #0 http://youtu.be/U0b5pDskAiw (11 seconds)

Open Air by Chris Caines #1 http://youtu.be/Z6YcutKaGbs (44 seconds)

Open Air by Chris Caines #2 http://youtu.be/8Y2QmRVFQqk (33 seconds)

Open Air by Chris Caines #3 http://youtu.be/zXx-SJYktbE (37 seconds)

Open Air by Chris Caines #4 http://youtu.be/_Eneeob-Lrk (33 seconds)

photos @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/sets/72157628256714387
slideshow of photos

event information @ http://www.aliak.com/content/open-air

Open Air by Chris Caines

video art installation @ Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman, NSW
Friday 28 October – Saturday 31 December
Artists Talk, 03/12/2011

"Open Air - Locative Audio Essay" app on the itunes store - install the app and then take the Sirius Cove Artists Walk that is a companion to the video installation

http://festivalofmosman.net/2011/events/open-air
http://mosmanartgallery.org.au/exhibitions/open-air
http://mosmanartgallery.org.au/events/meet-the-artist-chris-caines