Mocca Writeup
Winter Kitchen 2007
Single-channel video, audio and mixed-media installation.

The moment I entered the gallery, I was a little sceptical; the entrance seemed similar to that of a haunted house, dark curtains into a pitch black environment.  As my eyes adjusted to the light, I was able to see few outlines of the projectors and faint works until I came close to them. I felt darkness of the space was very effective in fully immersing a viewer in an environment.
The work that had captured my attention was “Winter Kitchen”, a kitchen which had snow come through the window. I loved the deep colours of red used throughout the room as it gave a warm feeling. The lighting of the kitchen also showed that the room had been left unattended for a while as lights seemed quite dim. Also, there is little light outside, except that coming from the house, showing that it is late in the evening. The first part of this room I recognized was the snow outside the doors, as if a few inches had fallen that night.  The window was left open, so a gust of wind would have brought in the snow. Upon glancing at the snow which had drifted from outside, it was odd to see that the snow had landed on the sink and the floor in four perfect piles. I found this interesting as snow would have been blown all over the counter in reality and less into perfect piles. Also, there was a sound playing throughout the piece, of gusting wind which strengthened the viewers knowledge that there was in fact a storm that blew the snow inside the kitchen.
However, in viewing the piece, I caught myself waiting for something else to happen, other than simply the sound. I realize most of the works only had only one aspect interacting with the audience ,but it would have been nice to see something as simple as more snow coming into the kitchen.  Otherwise, there could have been a person walk into the kitchen in shock as to how the snow got in and why.  By adding more of a narrative to the work, the viewer may be able to relate to it easier or simply gain more enjoyment.  Nevertheless, leaving the work with one sound or motion leaves the viewer with a greater sense of imagination as they can complete the story as to what they think would have happened.
My attention had also been struck by projections of people which looked VERY realistic. As the couple projections presented were life sized,  one could associate them with being real, even though they were one dimensional. At first glance, I was sure someone was standing near me just looking at the floor, which I found odd until I realized a person would not be as bright as these appeared.  It was neat just to stand there and watch the projections, not knowing what they would do next. It would be interesting to have the person appear in one spot and perform an action then disappear to a spot next to its initial position. This would give it a more mysterious feel to it as well as a greater sense of movement and element of surprise.
Overall, I enjoyed this exhibit as it differs from any other show because of the lack of lighting. In taking a moment to adjust to the darkness, one is fully immersed in an environment which can be quite calming, moving away from the hectic city. Although the works do not completely surround you, the small environments they are placed in draws viewers into these realistic rooms where YOU are the narrator of the story, figuring out what led the people to act the certain way they were performing.

C.Szapiel