The Sea Wall: Haegue Yang with an inclusion by Felix Gonzalez-Torres at the Arnolfini: Review by Polly Allen

Felix Gonzalez-Torres: 'Untitled, (Water') 1995

Modern art often gets a bad press, for being too cerebral and relying on what much of the public would perceive to be trickery – far removed from the simple communication of portraiture and still life painting. As a vast lover of art in all its forms, I regularly find myself defending modern strands and encouraging people to be more open-minded in their exhibition choices, which are made easier by our many free entry sites around the UK. The Arnolfini, in Bristol, is one such gallery, but its latest challenging offering may not charm quite as many visitors as it would have hoped.

The Sea Wall is a show that opens with an interactive guest piece by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whilst the rest of the work has been produced by Haegue Yang. Gonzalez-Torres’ contribution, Untitled (Water), 1995, resembles an expansive bead curtain, comprised of multiple strands of plastic in silver and blue, which the visitor can walk through and touch to make the sound of waves. It’s an unusual way of evoking atmosphere, but the most receptive viewers were young children, who couldn’t care less about the artistic merit. The man himself admitted that it is a ‘non-artistic’ work, which is meant to contrast with Yang’s style, but I found that its proximity to other exhibits made it too dominant. This was most evident in the first room, where Yang’s Certificates (1996-2011) were frequently overlooked by other visitors, despite their interesting social commentary. Each piece of paper was an official contract, binding Yang to give various personal details to the buyer of that Certificate, including the PIN number for her German mobile phone, thereby creating art through ownership and documentation. This was a thought-provoking project, but it needed to be more prominent in the gallery.

Thankfully visitors are provided with programmes as each section seems to merge in with the next, making it difficult to gauge the themes and views being expressed. This was most confusing on the top floor, where a soundscape and sculpture were placed in the same tiny room. I assumed that these elements made up one artwork, when in fact there were two separate entities to take in: The Story of a Bear-Lady in a Sand Cave (2010-2011, audio) and the mixed media Site Cube #1 (2010-2011). I found myself using the programme as a crutch, completely lost without its input, which felt disappointing as such background material should really be an accompaniment rather than a necessity. Site Cube #1 was also, for me, the biggest disappointment, as it was instantly forgettable – a metal box filled with candles, electric lighting and empty vases that were deliberately ‘50% less visible, acting as a lyrical metaphor for contained lives and obscured aspirations’. Light was obviously important to Yang as a symbol, but using a box as a trap feels too predictable. The objects inside were straightforward and she also used electrics and cubes in other works around the gallery, giving us a repetitive message. It felt tired and overly simplistic, to the point of laziness, as well as being about as interesting as looking in someone’s household cupboards.

Haegue Yang’s creativity is more stretched with the VIP’s Union installation (2001-2011), which comprises tables and chairs belonging to more than thirty prominent figures with Bristolian connections. In choosing standard objects that are hard to trace back to the lenders, Yang is giving them an anonymity and everyman quality that is at odds with the VIP title. Meanwhile, the impressive extract from the Trustworthies series (2010-2011) further bridges the public/private divide with 13 collages of used envelope security linings. You’ll recognise some of them from bank correspondence and similar official document casings but you probably have never thought of them as beautiful. Here they are given a new role, as similar patterns and colours are put together to make calming waves on a large scale. The meticulousness and dedication seen in Trustworthies is miles apart aesthetically from the inaccessibility of Site Cube #1’s lofty intelligence.

It is clear from my visit that The Sea Wall will divide opinion and confuse as many viewers as it entertains, but it is worth seeing if you are interested in controversial modern art or installations. However, for the everyday viewer, it may come as a disappointment to find a whole gallery space given to art such as this. Bristol is certainly pushing the boundaries artistically as a city, but this exhibition may not truly be open to all.