The title of the Walker & Walker exhibition, Ill Seen, Ill Heard, curated by Marji Vecchio at the Sheppard Gallery, stems from a slight alteration of the title of one of Samuel Beckett’s last works, a short story called “Ill Seen, Ill Said” (1980-1).
At the entrance,to the gallery the neon work Ill Seen, Ill Heard consists of the words “what? what? where? where?” written in reverse. Fixed to the wall opposite a window on the swing door, the viewer reads the text as a reflection. The repetition of each of the words gives it somewhat of a frenetic quality, suggesting a sense of urgency, demanding one to repeat the initial direction, that warranted the response in the first place. As if it went unheard or more appropriately ill heard. It alludes to an event that goes unwitnessed and as such remains elusive.
At the entrance,to the gallery the neon work Ill Seen, Ill Heard consists of the words “what? what? where? where?” written in reverse. Fixed to the wall opposite a window on the swing door, the viewer reads the text as a reflection. The repetition of each of the words gives it somewhat of a frenetic quality, suggesting a sense of urgency, demanding one to repeat the initial direction, that warranted the response in the first place. As if it went unheard or more appropriately ill heard. It alludes to an event that goes unwitnessed and as such remains elusive.
On the ground, the Dreamachine, is based on a simple stroboscopic column originally designed by Brion Gyson and the mathematician Ian Sommerville in 1959, following a vision Gyson had experienced. Re-created here as a static object, it lies on the floor horizontally, a symbol of the Beat experience as opposed to the experience itself.
Placed casually, leaning against the wall is a work titled is a work entitled the ghost of André Cadere. Conjuring the spirit of André Cadere, the consummate flâneur of the Situationist generation,a walking stick appears resting against a gallery wall. An indirect reference to Friedrich’s Wanderer, the gesture of this object’s inclusion in the exhibition repeats Cadere's actions, who would leave his sticks at art world and other events to which he hadn’t, or sometimes had, been invited.
The motif of the circle is articulated again as a theatre spotlight projects a perfect circle on the ground in Untitled (Theatre Spot). The work suggests the site of an event while also addressing the question of whether something has happened or is about to happen. A viewer can interact with the work and while doing so, behave in a different manner, opening up a new possibility of engagement.
In another echo, three chrome circles are placed casually on the gallery floor leaning against the wall. Titled Magic Circles referencing the tools of a magician, or a conjurer, or the fraternity of magicians. Embodying a sense of usage, a viewer is unaware if an event has happened or yet to take place. This uncertainty regarding events allows for a consideration of things as they stand and is central to the concerns of the exhibition Ill heard, ill seen.
On one wall, the neon sign One night only is off, remaining dark in the gallery during the duration of the exhibition, with the exception of one night's duration, when the sign is programmed to turn on randomly for exactly the duration of that one night. A slogan used by promoters, to advertise an event, the fact that the sign is off begs the question that the event has long since past or has yet to come.
A series of pages torn from selected poetry books with titles referring to the night or darkness, in the Night Drawings the words have been inked over except for where the letter 'o' occurs. What remain visible are the name of a novel or the title of a poem and all the letters “o” gleaming like so many stars in an ink-black sky.
Another light source, a halogen light is embedded high on the wall. "Walker and Walker have fashioned a landscape of sorts out of a dot, too. Consisting of single halogen bulb embedded in the wall, ‘Northern Star’ – which is calculated to correspond to the position of the northern star as it might be seen if the gallery wall vanished – is a cosmological miniature, a near-nothing that is sublimely vast. And it is here for us, a tiny miracle that engulfs us, even though we know it is only a halogen bulb inserted into the wall. An allegory of reverie.” David Beech
