Concerning my interest in fictitious narratives in art, this exhibition transforms the Tate turbine hall into a Dystopic shelter of the remnants Human existence in the far future. As used in both literature and film to reflect on issues in the current world, from a detached oblique view in a false future, Foerster uses the idea of a knowingly invented myth to reflect upon our current state of Globality, how sensationalism in the media creates this same type of apocalyptic hysteria, as well as using this same overarching view of our world in a different time frame to look back on current art and recent art history in the form of public sculpture.
The space itself lends well to a dystopic environment, being a post industrial space, institutionalised in a clean clinical way, a very sci fi aesthetic. Within the space, we see the appropriation of many public sculpture works but most notably the two overarching forms by Alexander Calder, and Louise Bourgeoise. These act like giant H.G.Wells aliens demolishing a city. Along side the appropriated sculpture is a film using scenes taken from various sci fi films hinting at an future world outside of the turbine hall, foreboding as it may be we are sought to seek comfort in the harsh steel beds, endearing in their uniformity and bright pop colours, alongside another sci fi referent in the copious literature we are offered, all surrounding and supporting the same stringent theme.
What takes me most about this installment of the unilever series is the overt narrative, from the text above the entrance acting like the first sentence of a novel, to the constant reminders to the fact that 'hey we are in the future, a fantasy future fed to us by mass media', although we are overladen with didactic referents I do feel the curation of multiple elements from various art historical periods was brought together in a quite ingenious and novel way.
I can't help but feel we are seeing alot of overt narrative in contemporary art. The installations of Charles Avery, Matthew Richie and the paintings of Chad McCail all do a similar thing in displacing a low brow cinematic narrative alongside artwork. This leads to the viewers relationship being very much from the side of artists intention leaving room for very little else. Only the questioning of why such an obvious sentiment, and what could he really be trying to say in the place of this obviousness. As with Baudrillard; the merging of Science fiction and science fact are leading towrds the same path due to their informing of one another.
