I took a quick look at Anna Boghiguian’s work at the National Museum in Cardiff today. I was suprised as it seemed bitty to me, drawings she put together and some cardboard cut-outs and overhead steel structures with a glass mat and a rambling sort of mixed media covering a wall. I didn’t like it although it got my attention but not in a nice way. I felt overwhelmed and a bit sick. Then I moved through Bouchra Khalili’s work and it looked interesting although repetitive about the same story and the same people but it was a nice technical production smooth flowing. My thoughts were how could this artist do all this work in a boring way like this. Next, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work which I found mesmerizing. I just kept watching because it seemed something was about to happen but it never did. Even a toddler was watching with her mum. I think it was about memories and how you perceive things. With the foreign take as well, it reminded me of the book I read when I went to Morocco in Year 2 called A Passage to India by E M Forster. An eerie almost unreal feel to everything. For me it is the experience of travelling abroad, being in an unfamiliar ‘world’ . I liked this work the best. He just captures the essence of dislocation. It really got me going because it could be relevant on so many levels.
Trevor Paglen’s work was big and photo images so posing as the truth I guess. It didn’t really hit a chord for me but I respected his talents. Finally Otobong Nkanga which was good really good but I didn’t like it actually. He got his point across to me about how man destroys nature and the tapestry was big a lot of work but for me personally it was ok but not a wow because it didn’t touch me. I enjoyed whizzing through the rooms as I had limited time but hopefully next time it will be more relaxed!
Ruth Newell 