REVIEW: Helicon’s Synesthesia Exhibit

Attending Helicon’s Synesthesia Exhibit was definitely an experience.  It was dark, cold, and stormy when my friend and I arrived outside 504 Catherine, which on its own appeared to simply be a crowded house.  Then, suddenly, some unnerving music began to play, consisting of what sounded like wailing and sound static.  It was hardly an enticing welcome, but we eventually decided to head inside.

Welcome to synesthesia...
Welcome to synesthesia…

There were fairy lights on the walls and the band was huddled on the ground in the corner of the main room.  There was some art hung at eye level, including some installations that I enjoyed featuring bright colors that were nowhere to be found in the rest of the house.

The back corner
The back corner

We progressed upstairs, where we encountered an invitation to create some hands-on, spontaneous art by a window:

Window art
Window art

This was a part of the exhibit that I enjoyed.  It claimed in the event description that this exhibit would be a safe space to create and appreciate art.  The invitation to create something (or something more, in the case of the featured artists) was inspiring and made me feel like a part of the arts community.

Upstairs, however, was the opposite.  We were guided into a small room draped with blankets and scattered with pillows.  We sat down in front of a makeshift movie screen and watched what turned out to be one of the most unnerving films I’ve ever tried to see.  The camera lingered on seemingly unimportant objects, such as an outlet plug on the wall and the (infuriatingly incomplete) shaving of a man’s head.  We managed to escape once the narrator began discussing her wish to have her head stuck in a wood-chipper.

After that movie, we decided to skip the film with trigger warnings (“claustrophobia” & “bodily noises” among others) posted outside on the door.  We headed down to the basement, which, after taking in the previous levels of the house, sounded rather ominous.  To my surprise, however, the basement ended up being my favorite location.

The basement, part 1
The basement, part 1

This was our view when we had descended the (albeit creaky) stairs.  The sheets and fairly lights gave the space a, for lack of a better term, very artsy personality.  The lighting framed the artwork very well, casting a golden hue on everything.  Despite this, the art here was definitely of a darker sort, featuring, for example, a “Self Portrait” sculpture by Jay Moskowitz.

“Self Portrait” part 1

A closer look at this sculpture, especially when you bent down to be at eye level with it, revealed the talent present in this installation.  When you moved to look at the other side of the portrait, however…

“Self Portrait” part 2

…you were faced with something else entirely.

Moving into another room, we noticed a piece by Natalie Grove.  “Sit in Me” was typed out on the label, so we obliged.

Grove
Grove

Turning to our right, there was yet another film playing.  The film was exceptional at displaying continuous motion, every few frames featuring the cast in different or no clothing.  Despite these changes, there was never any pause.  The room itself was very thought-provoking as well, with wine and milk lined up in front of clothes in a pile on the ground.

Drink one, leave the cup.
Drink one, leave the cup.

My favorite piece of artwork at the exhibit was called “Suspended Thought” by Lorenzo Lorenzetti.  I very much enjoyed the literal title and the suspensions themselves.  It revealed, to me, how thoughts can manifest into something physical and indeed paralyze one’s mind.  It was a very geometric sculpture that reminded me of certain renaissance sculptures I’ve encountered at art museums around the world.

“Suspended Thought”

I heard about this exhibit because my photographs were also displayed.  Upon looking at all the other art present in the house, my friends joked that my prints were there to serve as a break from all other the more heavy, “tortured artist” installations.  My only qualm with being featured is that the labels below all three photos were incorrect, but the working theory is that it was an intentional mishap to further provoke the disorganized, artistic mind.

kebishop

I am a senior majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Comparative Culture and Identity and a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology. I'm an avid coffee and bonfire enthusiast with an interest in the arts.

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