Amnesiac Hide, presented by the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, consists of four immersive installations that require viewers to check their gallery-going intuitions at the door, and become fully immersed within each of Nelson’s abandoned worlds. The installations are presented separately, in four individual rooms, and in no particular order. This allows the viewer to pick and choose which installation to view first.
This exhibition includes three new works by Nelson. Eighty Circles through Canada (The Last Possessions of an Orcadian Mountain Man) is a double-sided installation. The first side of this work consists of a wooden shelving unit that holds the abandoned possessions of Nelson’s late friend Erlend Williamson. These shelves display a wide range of Williamson’s possessions, including clothing, toothbrushes, small animal trinkets, and photo albums.
On the other side is a projection slideshow consisting of 80 photographs taken by Nelson during his journey from Banff to Vancouver. These images display deserted fire pits, which the artist describes as a rudimentary mark of civilization in isolated locations that the viewer would have previously thought to be untouched by man.
Another piece, Double Negative, which was commissioned for the Power Plant, includes a series of photocopiers that are surrounded by pieces of paper. These pieces of paper contain the unpublished writings of Williamson’s experiences while travelling. Each copier is accompanied by a different section of his writings. Certain words or sentences, either placed on the floor or draped over photocopiers, are inflated over several pieces of paper.
Gang of Seven is an installation that consists of materials Nelson found on the shore of Vancouver beaches. The artist created faux campfires, sailing ships, and sea monsters, all from the washed up debris. He drew inspiration from science fiction literature, in which he imagines the ocean as a “gigantic organism.”
The Power Plant is the second gallery to ever host Nelson’s fourth installation, Quiver of Arrows. This piece is the most immersive of the four installations. A series of four trailers are seared together and placed on stilts. With the removal of its’ wheels, the trailer can no longer relocate. The viewer is able to navigate through each of the four trailers, each of which contained objects belonging to former inhabitants. While walking through this installation, the viewer is able to inquire about the individuals that inhabited these spaces, making assumptions about their daily lives, interests, and addictions.
Amnesiac Hide is truly a remarkable exhibition —the ability of the viewer to navigate and become a part of the installations is like nothing I have experienced before in a gallery setting. The abandoned space of each work encourages the viewer to consider the objects within the installations, formally owned by real people or fictional characters, and imagine both what the owners of these objects were like as people and the stories behind why they possessed certain objects.
Amnesiac Hide is at the Power Plant until May 19, 2014. Admission to the Power Plant is free.
