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12/16/2008: "Reliving The Psychedelic Experience" by Alice Cavender
A new kind of exhibition opened on Friday the 28th of November of this year: the CAPC museum of contemporary art of Bordeaux has decided to become psychedelic for the next few months. The majestic nave of the building is punctuated with visual and sound archives linked to the psychedelic movement, from its beginnings in the 1960's to its current version and by-products. Every corner of the nave is used to accentuate the psychedelic experience, whilst however managing to remain minimalist in its contents; slideshows are projected onto different wall spaces, emblematic and bizarre sculptures and installations appear as if from nowhere, imposing walls have been set up, with on one side archives linked to the psychedelic thought (records, posters, books, etc.) and on the other a huge mirror that allows you to lose yourself in your vision, posters are laid out on the floor, for anyone interested to take, or simply to look at.But the main and most impressive installation is at the West end of the nave, with two huge mandala eyes peering into the building, reflecting themselves in the mirrors, transforming the stone, brick and wood architecture into a truly vibrant and destabilising experience. Made with wooden structures that go to the top of the gigantic archways and painted in blue, the eye shapes are completed with a huge red curtain-like wall that stands behind the blue installation. In the centre of this 'curtain', a central triangle marking the iris is cut, allowing us to see the third layer, made of concentric circles in all the colours of the rainbow, this layer again taking up all the space of the archway. In all, an imposing and intriguing installation that sets the spirit of the exhibition. Because this exhibition is not seen as an 'exhibition'. It is an experience, a dive into the psychedelic experimentations of today, while also historically testifying to the constant evolution of the movement. The archives play with the contemporary installations, enabling the visitor to fully immerse himself in what was and is psychedaelia.
The whole nave testifies to this important movement that has rocked and influenced the last five decades. Not only an artistic movement, or an aesthetic style, it represents a way of life, leaving the simply artistic sphere and venturing into the confines of everyday life.
To follow this idea, the installation is 'activated' at specific moments, becoming much more than a simple exhibition. For the opening, the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings were filled with music groups, performances, films and experimentations. Groups such as the Psychic Ills, Sonic Boom, Arp, Principles of Geometry, and the Reines Angleterre performed on the installation turned into a stage for the weekend, in order to fully convey the experience of psychedaelia. And the exhibition should be 'activated' every few weeks until March, with other performances, concerts and films.
An experience, an experimentation, a must see.
