Israeli-born artist Keren Cytter hopped over the pond–fresh from her recent show at Mathew in New York–to open her latest solo-exhibition at Pilar Corrias, London last week. Ocean brings together video work and drawing, featuring a range of sea creatures and a variety of weaving, non-linear narratives.
Taking a precursory glance around the gallery space, my first impressions went something along the lines of: Keren Cytter has raided a GSCE art-lesson and made off with the entire classes’ gel-pens. This is, of course, not true. Yet, it is exactly the kind of scenario we could expect from one of the Israeli-born artist’s films. Enigmatic, disorientating and deftly amusing, her work is a crash-course in post-modern strategy, underscored by existential (though vague) plotlines. It’s also very interesting. Suffice to say, for me she is one of the best video-artists working at present.
Divided over two floors, works are spread out illogically, as the exhibition’s framework has seemingly aligned itself with Cytter’s lateral way of thinking. Two films play upstairs–Ocean and Game–alongside zany pencil drawings, while downstairs Metamorphosis screens in a darkened room. Cytter’s film works all share one defining element, in that they take a fractured and non-linear approach. Frequently crossing from reality into fiction, she weaves experimental storylines–threaded with themes of sex, detached violence and problematic social interactions. Narratives are often hard to follow, and dismantle conventional ways of viewing.
Her drawings follow suit; colourful renditions of objects–pencils and ink pens depict an array of sea life, namely fish and seahorses, mixed up with strange nautical symbols–which are mostly crayola-esque and unevenly shaded, framed with glitter tape or scribbled onto delicately headed stationary.
Always challenging our perceptions, Cytter’s work wades through a quagmire of references and visual triggers, and little can be found in fishing about for a definite conclusion. But her work can also inspire a willingness in the viewer to become disorientated, as if they’ve deliberately pressed shuffle on an iPod.
‘Keren Cytter: Ocean’ is showing at Pilar Corrias, London until 7 May
