Cardiff and Miller
A visitor dons headphones for binaural sound to accompany cinema in “Picture from the Poetry Maker,” one of the installations by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller on view at Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse (photo by Roslyne Buchanan)
The Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse’s stark entry sets a tone of uncertainty. What can one expect? Chairs, a table and bookcases reminiscent of an old school library sit to your right. Glass cases display colourful caricatures whose significance soon becomes apparent.
Artists’ shipping crates comprise the check-in counter, a reminder that CMAW is a warehouse and a contemporary art museum, located in a former Ashley Furniture store in Enderby, British Columbia.
From the moment you enter, you are guided in how to engage with the immersive large-scale installations, some of which have never been on view in Canada before. Artist’s proofs, collated and framed, adorn a wall with paintings depicting BC scenes. Walk past the washroom, and you’ll see an intriguing collection of sketchbooks from the artists’ travels. Your sensory journey intensifies.
Sight and sound intertwine with trickery to fool you in a fun, if at times, macabre way in the interactive works. The quality of sound, how it is separated into different speakers, and combined in composition is powerful. Hearing is believing — or is it? Similarly, the imagery and kinetic exhibits toy with you.
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