>>PREVIEW
SCENES FROM THE HOUSE DREAM: PHASE 5
Runs until April 21
Trépanier-Baer Gallery
David Hoffos has been a mainstay of the Alberta visual arts community since he first came to prominence in the early ’90s. His work has garnered a tremendous following locally and nationally because of its attention to mind-bending do-it-yourself techno-trickery and fantastical immersive environments. A Hoffos show is always a lot of fun, and this is what makes his work remarkable and engaging.
It could be argued, however, that some of his previous projects have been overly predictable, or "safe." After seeing a few Hoffos exhibitions, an inevitable acclimatization makes his installations seem more familiar than magical, so his current exhibition at Trépanier-Baer must have presented something of a challenge for the artist. Scenes from the House Dream: Phase 5 reflect a sense of transition in Hoffos's practice and a growing awareness of the thresholds and escapes that are possible in his work.
The exhibition itself occupies most of the main space of the gallery with black curtains covering both entrances of the installation. Inside the dark space are four works ranging from miniature video dioramas to a life-scale installation incorporating a closed circuit camera. Two of the small vignettes are typical Hoffos fare, suburban scenes of disaffected individuals (one a self-portrait in a house, the other a teen couple talking beneath an overpass). The third depicts the interior architecture of a kitchen, but with a striking absence of human actors. The windows in this kitchen are open, allowing the howling winter wind to cover the counter with snow. The empty refrigerator stands open a crack tracing a line of cool light on the floor.
The difference between Phase 5 and the previous phases of the House Dream series seems to be Hoffos's increasing subtlety in presenting sinister, melancholic and paranormal themes. Not to say these themes did not exist in his previous work, but there is a distinctive shift in this installation to something less tangible. A quality that could be described as uncanny pervades the show. Meaning seems more open, while the scenes depicted slough off obvious narrative readings in favour of ambiguous, unsettling scenarios. Except for the "overpass" piece, nothing seems straightforward, and even that work has an odd quality that defies easy interpretation. What is clear is that each of these works, while remaining characteristic of Hoffos's oeuvre, also expands its scope.
Perhaps the most interesting work of the exhibit, though, is the larger security camera installation. This disarmingly simple piece films the back of the viewer as they look through a framed space into the rear of the gallery. Within this space is a life-sized black painted cutout onto which the image of the viewer's back is projected. The cutout appears to look through another similar frame, mounted to the rear wall, heightening the sense of infinite repetition. The implication arises that viewers are in the position of viewing themselves, while simultaneously taking a position outside their own body.
This complex idea touches directly on the relationship between representation and image making. Michel Foucault's study of Las Meninas in The Order of Things comes to mind, but through an inverted view. In Foucault's study of the Diego Velazquez painting, the theorist proposes a set of multiple representations that simultaneously implicate the viewer in the work while forever separating them. In the Hoffos version, we are included as the content of the work, but from a viewpoint that is always mediated and outside ourselves. The metaphysical implications are exciting and engaging, evoking Borges and Magritte concurrently.
The intellectual musings provoked by Scenes from the House Dream: Phase 5 are an encouraging twist to Hoffos's already interesting practice. After refining his formal skills and honing a distinctive and unique approach, it’s exciting to see work that risks new and more demanding engagements. It’s a positive step for an artist with a growing reputation and weightier professional expectations. |
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