Visiting Shilpa’s exhibition was a really brilliant experience. As I walked in i was met with text about the exhibition being about the ‘artist’s exploration of control and resistance through restriction imposed on poets. ‘ This context helped shape the experience allowing me to understand the situation in which the art being created occurred.
By the entrance, there were two flap boards suspended from the ceiling, displaying often unsettling dialogue – the two boards being conversational created an interesting dynamic, bringing a human personification to the piece as a whole. The sound of the letters changing was also very interesting – an almost unemotional flapping.
Continuing through the exhibition you are met with various poems, each on the topic of imprisonment, finally leading up to the 100 speaker sound installation. I entered a dark room, dimly lit to a choir-like singing, the effect of both the darkroom and the choir giving me goosebumps, emphasising the power specialisation had. Spatialisation has the ability to create atmospheres and dynamics mono and stereo listening just would not be able to do.
The closeness of the steaks created a tight prison-like feel as one traversed through the maze of speakers and poems – each attached like the hearts of the poet onto each singular steak. Just being in there i felt a deep sense of awe, anxiety and a feeling I don’t know how to describe – a mixture of both comfort and discomfort that was further enhanced by the surround sound. The speaker formation was not the usual circle, but was placed in linear arrays – allowing you to move between them but also creating the constrictive atmosphere.