Vertigo Sea

 

I travelled to Bristol for this exhibition very early one cold Saturday morning. Having already spent an afternoon at the Lisson gallery, I was hungry for more. John Akomfrah is an artist to envy. My instant response was how can anyone follow that!

His masterful imagery and composition was painterly and seductive, even when the content was challenging to view because of the uncomfortable truths it was launching at its audience. 

Scale plays a large part in the experiencing of this artwork. It is immense, therefore the viewer is in the work, with all that implies.

I went to a panel discussion on the same day that I viewed the show at the Arnolfini. 

Participating in the discussion was Philip Hoare. He analysed his feelings about the films and related them to his book, The Sea Inside. He was able to access the multiple meanings and concepts in Akomfrah's work. It was enviromental, historical, post colonial, and contemporary.

The imagery of the sea is loaded. It gives us life, air, food and pleasure, but sometimes we barely notice it.

The whaling industry portrayed in the work is so brutal that I found myself flinching at times. It was hard to endure the whole screening.

In press releases and publicity for Vertigo Sea, John Akomfrah tells of his near drowning as a boy and his subsequent respect for the sea. I concur. As someone who's sibling drowned in the Sea, I have a very healthily balanced fear and love of the Sea.

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