Beyond the found object
Mining | Meaning | Memory
The Shoreswood Archives
The increasingly convoluted contrivances of Konrad Barsony
This work typifies a very human, object-centric existence, without romanticism or pretense. Within the context of an individual's possessions, each object represents a choice, not only of acquiring, but also keeping hold of, maintaining, and potentially displaying. In this video installation, we are asked to unpick a series of these seemingly ordinary objects, to ascertain their connections, their stories and the relevance to their owner.
Truthfully however, The Increasingly Convoluted Contrivances of Konrad Barsony is somewhat of unforthcoming in regards to many of these questions. Research to uncover the original artist is still ongoing and evidence of this installation survives solely through a meticulous restoration of archival footage from a showcase at The Loft Gallery. Also surviving from that show is a review from one Graeme Sevenedge which offers a glimpse into how this work was initially received, perhaps suggesting how this work might have been left unearthed for so long.
Review By Graeme Sevenedge. N.D.
On first viewing, this visual meander across an ensemble of seemingly disparate objects offers itself up as a conundrum. What are these vaguely recognisable objects and what relationship, if any, do they have to each other? As the camera pans across the picture plane, it seems the objects morph into softer, more ambiguous forms, still retaining some semblance of their former identity, but strangely absented from reality. And then, there are the accompanying sounds which one assumes relate in some meaningful way to what we are watching; strange, distinctive, yet unidentifiable noises that offer sibilance, clatter, hums, whistles, and drones that might remind one of the sounds to be found in an airing cupboard.
As with the rest of Barsony’s oeuvre, we are ‘left all at sea’ with no points of reference, beyond what we see and hear. Yes, of course, there are the hints of domesticity and possibly a gentle nod to the genre of ‘still life,’ yet infuriatingly we are offered no resolution to the reasoning behind this endeavour, nor because of the ‘looped’ nature of the presentation are we able to discern a beginning or end to the work. Ultimately, we are left quite literally in the dark, surrounded by this odd collection of elements, both audible and visual, to make our own connections based on individual perspective. Begrudgingly, I suppose I should acknowledge that the work gains its aesthetic validity from the multiplicity of interpretations one might make and in doing so, one might while away a goodly amount of time in its environs… but really, is that enough?
