Untitled Installation 1992

"Andrew Burrell is...concerned with incorporating the human in his installation. The television set is, in contemporary society, a means of receiving information and entertainment in our homes, but this information is unmediated. In this installation the artist is positioning himself in relation to the viewer, speaking directly to the viewer, from a number of different positions. He explores the genre of self portraiture, framing himself both within and exterior to the television set, and forcing the viewer to listen and watch from a variety of perspectives."

Amanda McDonald Crowley, SIGNALS SYMBOLS SYSTEMS catalogue essay, 1992

Three tv sets on plinths, each with a different video loop, of myself, spot-lit infront of an empty frame. The physical frame hangs in the exhibition space behind the screens, also spotlit. A large, fragmented and pixelated laser print self-portrait is mounted to the wall in front of the screens. The viewer positioning themselves between this print and the screens to view the work. The video loops contain two types of audio content: one is a series of short monologues / spoken word narratives, these are not lip synced and play over each other at times, and sometimes not at all. The second is lip-synced and are fragments of spoken work that relate to the telling or passing of time. The three loops are of different lengths so sync differently on each play-through. The VHS players, cables and cords are all in view, rather than the underlying technology being hidden from the viewer. The nature of the VHS decks is that they automatically rewind to loop, so intermittently a screen will go black while the whiring of the rewind takes place.

Images from 35mm slides shot from TV screen showing VHS docuentation (embedded below)

Curated by Amanda McDonald Crowley Signals Symbols Systems is an exhibition coinciding with the Third International Symposium of Electronic Art (TISEA). TISEA is an international forum providing an opportunity to explore questions concerning recent developments in science, art and technology and their impact on the evolution of contemporary culture.

VHS documentation of "UNTITLED INSTALLATION" original audio (low quality recording)

Download PDF of Signals Symbols Systems gallery catalogue.