Hands

After attending a full lecture theatre of people (some of whom had traversed far and wide, or really, just over the road from Elam) listening to Gary Hill talk about his practice, I was seriously anticipating the opening of this show. Mostly because the artist talk was less about the ideas surrounding his practice, and more a 'show and tell' of works he had done over the years. Not that I'm complaining too much, as I wasn't so familiar with his work (and the talk proved to be a good introduction into the empire of Gary Hill) but I was hoping to get more of a feel of his practice through the exhibition and this, being the commencing show for St Paul Street this year, was bound to be a goodie.

Gallery One is host to a disorientating work projected onto different walls at breakneck speed. It is a place where you can't really stay for long, lest you wish to get ill. Gallery Two, on the other hand, is slightly more comforting, pitch black with a viewing sofa and a changing roster of works depending on the day of the week. Many of these works were done up to two decades ago. My favourite so far is the one pictured above, Site Recite which screened at the opening and on Fridays.

The one thing I particularly enjoy about Hill's videos tend to be the marrying of language and video. When the two come together to create what seems like a whole entity, particularly when he moves or changes the video according to the syncopation and syllables of the verbal word. Alan has since introduced me to Laurie Anderson, whom apparently is friends with Hill. They run along similar linguistical pathways. We now happily blast her tunes in studio. Check out Walking and Falling and White Lilly.

- Agnes