REVIEWED: Navid Nuur: Phantom Fuel
By Gloria Wiley-Garcia
Hosted at Parasol unit, Phantom
Fuel is the first UK solo exhibition of Iran-born Dutch artist Navid Nuur.
The show features a wide selection of conceptually led two-dimensional and
three-dimensional works, which by their very nature, attempt to free themselves
from medium categorisation. In the press release, Nuur refers to his pieces as interimodules because they are ‘temporary module-like works that feed off each other when they are
together’. Nuur twists,
cuts and adds light, transforming the space, making the viewer think about
temporalities and the importance of light itself. Light becomes fuel and a metaphor
for life, death and rebirth. The transformative qualities of Nuur’s
found objects reposition their function, meaning and impact. Whilst the exhibition rooms vibrate with a mysterious
charm, numerous interesting details catch the eye’s attention and enable the spectator
to go on a journey of discovery.
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| Navid Nuur, Untitled, 2007-2010 Hand written text on Plexiglass light box, black metal framing, movement sensor 60 x 80 x 20 cm (23.75 x 31.5 x 8 in) Courtesy of the artist, Plan B Cluj, Berlin and Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam |
The first piece, Untitled (2007-2010) can easily go unnoticed: A light box outside the gallery entrance reads ‘THERE’. This word metamorphoses after a few seconds to only read ‘HERE’. The phantasmagorical aspect of the appearing and disappearing ‘T’ alludes to the exhibition’s title and hints at the importance of context, a theme further explored within the gallery walls. The subtle light box also alerts the viewer to the use of familiarly uncanny objects. Untitled serves as a constant reformulation of meaning of the inanimate object.
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| Navid Nuur, These are the days, 2004 – 2013 Debris from former exhibitions and artist’s studio, torch lamp Dimensions variable Parasol unit installation view 2013 Courtesy Parasol unit and the artist Photo Stephen White © Navid Nuur |
In a large space on the ground floor, the
installation These are the days (2004-
2013) appears to be an amalgamation of lamps/water pipes/ kaleidoscopes/cameras
placed on a shelf. At first glance, they look like ordinary sculptures but
through interaction as per instructions on the wall - by looking inside the
individual pieces - it is possible to see new worlds. They reveal dark, twisted
cavities with light shining through and a few pieces hold tiny human-like figures within
their eroded landscapes. These tenebrous yet poetic environments can be
interpreted as encapsulated memories, allegories of death, or even maps of the
human mind.
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Navid
Nuur, Welcome/Welcome, 2010 – 2013
Dimensions variableSandpaper Courtesy the artist, Plan B Cluj, Berlin and Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam |
On the wall separating two rooms on the ground floor, a curtain-like piece made of long strips of sandpaper allows the viewer to move from one space to another. It takes the viewer outside of their comfort zone - one is forced to interact with the work in an irritating and overall unpleasant manner as the rough sandpaper comes into contact with one’s skin. Welcome/Welcome 2010-2013, the work’s name, is revealed only once the viewer passes through this interstitial piece - a touch of sarcasm indeed.
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| Navid
Nuur From the eyecodex of the monochrome studies (study 92 - 95), 1988 - 2013 Road sign emulsion, reflective sheet 450 x 270 cm (1771⁄4 x 1061⁄4 in) Courtesy the artist, Plan B Cluj, Berlin and Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam |
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| Navid Nuur: Phantom Fuel Parasol unit installation view 2013 (as seen through peephole) Courtesy Parasol unit and the artist Photo Stephen White © Navid Nuur |
Another interesting feature on the same wall is a dynamic peephole. As one looks through it, from one side it becomes a voyeuristic spy-hole and from the other side it lights up From the eyecodex of the monochrome studies (study 92-95) 1998-2013, a large canvas treated with reflective material. The work hangs in the darkness of the first room but as seen through the peephole from the other side, it absorbs the light from the bulb inside the peephole. It is a beautiful example of Nuur’s interimodules and a ludic fresh approach to monochrome theory.
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Navid Nuur, Vein of Venus III, 2008 -
2013
Overhead projector, ice lollies, freezer, paper towels, glass cleaner, aquarium Dimensions variable Navid Nuur: Phantom Fuel Parasol unit installation view 2013 Courtesy Parasol unit and the artist Photo Stephen White © Navid Nuur |
As one begins to engage with them closely, Nuur’s pieces metamorphose into objects with indiscernible depth. Vein of Venus III, 2008-2013 is an installation with yellow coloured ice lollies pinned to an acetate sheet placed over a projector. Nuur provokes the viewer with his choice of materials which may lead to an annoying perplexity and/or boredom as the piece seems to be stuck in conceptual art of the 70s. However, as one continues to observe the work, one realises that the projector lights up the window facing the patio and then another element brings a new sequence of thought into play: The patio box displays the projection of the melting, moving stream of ice lollies so reminiscent of blood flowing down veins in a human body. Nuur has therefore been able to replicate this scientific/biological moving image through the transformative capacity of materials exposed to the projector’s heat/light - enabling the viewer to re-evaluate one’s thoughts via the mere transformation of waste into art.
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| Navid
Nuur, redblueredblue, 2008-2013
Mobile phone, baked modelling clay Activated by dialling mobile phone Dimensions variable Navid Nuur: Phantom Fuel Parasol unit installation view 2013 Courtesy Parasol unit and the artist Photo Stephen White © Navid Nuur |
On the first floor, Redblueredblue (2008-2013) comprises an old mobile phone surrounded by a swirl of red and blue moulding clay attached to a wall. There is an interactive element whereby one is invited to ring up the mobile in question. In doing so, what one gets in return is a nostalgic old generation ring-tone and a change in the number of missed calls as well as one’s own phone number showing up on the old mobile’s screen. Perhaps Nuur’s provocative stance is somewhat misplaced here. The participatory aspect of the phone call does not make the work more interesting - on the contrary, this particular ‘fuel’ can come across as tiresome.
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Navid Nuur, The arrangement, 2013
Laser print signed letter, marker used for signing, neon containing partly burnt letter Dimensions variable Courtesy the artist, Plan B Cluj, Berlin and Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam |
Towards the back of the room, the spectator finds The arrangement (2013), a lyrical piece consisting of a framed partly
burnt letter on the left and a neon loop on the right. The document refers to a
work the artist would like to do in future – it is addressed to an individual
who appears to have triggered the idea of the piece and who may have previously
agreed to take part in it. In the letter, Nuur requests a few grams of this
person’s ashes once the individual has perished. The artist would like to put
these ashes inside a neon tube that will then take the shape of a letter of the
alphabet.
The piece is simultaneously morbid and fascinating. Combining both
spirituality and scientific curiosity, Nuur gives us details of the arrangement
and tells us about his motives. The transformation of the human body into ashes
and the planned insertion of these ashes into an artificial light tube serve as
an allegory of death and the transcendence of the soul. Whilst the agreement in
question has not materialised, the powerful descriptive element of the signed letter
fuels the spectator’s mind with the idea of the possibility of its creation.
Phantom Fuel is therefore thought provoking and the use
of materials and theory tends to be fresh, open to many interpretations and poetic.
As long as one is willing to put in the time and effort, the provocative and insightful
nature of the pieces together with the show’s interesting curation, make this an
easily digestible exhibition for most audiences. It is always enjoyable to see beautifully
executed work that offers new reflections on the found object whilst avoiding
clichés.
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NAVID
NUUR: PHANTOM FUEL, PARASOL UNIT
FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, London UK. 13 March -19 May 2013