BFI Gallery – Retrospectre Mat Collishaw

February 26 – May 9 2010

Rating: 4 out of 5

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/exhibitions/bfi_gallery

Part of the Young British Artists that came to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, Mat Collishaw has explored a variety of mediums, including painting and photography, and in the BFI gallery, video art.

Projected upon a wooden altarpiece with numerous interesting cut-outs and add-ins, including a birdcage, the relatively short work of art is quite interesting. The framing of each individual and simultaneously projected piece of video is excellent, giving form and focus to each part of the whole while allowing for complementary cohesiveness.

The installation is inspired by a great film director and artist, Sergei Paradjanov, whose films are currently being celebrated at the BFI. But you don’t need to know who Paradjanov is to appreciate Mat’s work. The videos explore the universal subjects of life and death, the power of nature and humanity’s interaction with it. Some images are quite contemplative, others are awe-inspiring, and still others are quite disturbing. Grace and beauty sit well alongside blood and fear.

Overall quite an excellent and well-focused work that is at times violent and other times serene and thought provoking throughout.