I went to visit the YSP during a visit back home, I found an exhibition on by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. His exploration into tactility and sensory fascinated me as I have touched the subject on more than one occasion in my work even as far as to write a small piece for a poster on how it is researched and used.
A curtain of letters that ran down the aisle of the underground exhibition was the first thing I came across when I entered the gallery, it was made from stainless steel each letter attached to the other by wire. This was in fact a large curtain of poetry known as the "29 Palms". I found it hard to read at the angle it was at, though the experience of walking through it and actually being able to interact quite refreshing. Better than the usual "look with your eyes and not with your hands" blurted out towards you from gallery staff, which has always been difficult for me to do.
In the first room I came across, a recreation of the three monkeys(hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil) was on display. Except the forms were human, They were made from polyester resin and mounted to each wall. These figures had words on them that seemed to represent emotions they were going through like "Panic" or "Stress".
Another collection of resin forms in the shape of heads inhabited the next room, facing each other in a pool of marble pebbles. The shadow created by the lights brought out features in the face which might not have been clear enough if viewed outside. The pieces were quite big, taking up most of the room and leaving only a small path to follow round.
The next room and my favorite was filled with Alabaster heads aligned in such a way that when you entered the room you would have a visual overload, as the whole room appeared squashed like a bad photograph. The streched heads were brilliantly detailed, almost life like in some respects. Each head appeared to be a different person with some completely carved whilst others appeared to be unfinished, or just left to show the process.
the final room contained several bronze gongs in a circle from Jaumes Jerusalem, which is part of a interactive exhibit. We were told when we entered room that each gong had words engraved on them from the "Song of Songs" which is a book of the Hebrew bible and that the sounds were to give the words meaning. When you struck the bronze The vibration could be felt around the whole room , each gong producing a different ton. It was quite an experience though it only lasted for a short while as each group was given a limited time in the room. I really enjoyed his work and the way he used light, sound, space and touch to indulge the senses whilst at the same time giving you a new appreciation for the human form.
