Baltic Trip

I'm sometimes reluctant to visit The Baltic because they rarely have more than one exhibition on when I go. But this time I was pleasantly surprised; four floors full and open to view.

We decided to work from the top floor downwards so we took the stairs up to level 5 ( thigh workout!). It was a clammy day outside and I was tempted to have a lie down halfway up the stairs, partly because my legs hurt and partly because the I knew the metal floor would feel icy cool, but don't worry..I resisted :)

The top floors were occupied by Robert Breer's work. The majority of the floor space was filled with his 'floats' which are objects of different sizes and materials, moving around the room at an incredibly slow pace. And by 'incredibly slow' I mean its almost undetectable, I was in the room for fifteen minutes before I realized even one of them was mobile. I'm sure if you sat there a while you'd notice them changing position over time. Other than that Breer made films from his paintings, collating them like a flip book flickering before your eyes. It was hard to stand and watch for any length of time before it hurt my eyes, so I think I'm a bigger fan of his floats.

Float, Rug#5 and Beam, Images by angelfloresjr.multiply.com where there is also an interview with Breer

The middle exhibition was from Maurizio Anzeri, it was my favorite of the three on show. He uses found photographs and embroiders into them to create strange masks and coverings on the faces of the photos subjects. I read something while I was wandering around the exhibition which said Anzeri studied the importance of African masks within tribal cultures; this could indicate why he focuses on the face when embroidering. I'm attracted to the vibrant colours and the idea of reinventing found objects, also work with fine detail interests me as I know time has been invested into the piece.

One other thing... it brings back memories of doing Spirograph pictures with my sisters.

Maurizio Anzeri, Image from The Baltic

I found Mariah Robertson's exhibition was interesting because of how it was displayed. She uses photo development techniques in a dark room, combined with chemical 'paints' to produce colourful expanses of artwork. Looking closely you can make out ghostly images of the original photos, but I preferred standing back ad admiring the whole effect. Robertson's work is presented more like objects which was an approach to photography I haven't seen before therefore it was refreshing.

Mariah Robertson, Image from The Baltic