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RICHARD T. WALKER
”An occasional thing that happens often :
Sun & Mountain + Snow & Trees ”


20.10.06 > 02.11.06
monday-sunday : 9pm > 12pm


Views of the exhibition.

Carmelitas Gallery presents the video installation “An occasional thing that happens often” from the young British artist Richard T. Walker.

The works on display, “An occasional thing that happens often”, at Carmelitas Gallery consist in two pieces. The first, entitled “sun and mountain” is projected onto the windows and is visible from the street, and the second is entitled “snow and trees” is projected in the interior room.

Walker's videos use written images, words, spoken texts and his own musical compositions as tools to confront varying feelings associated with the experience of landscape.

At the video installation at Carmelitas Gallery a dialog between the landscapes is produced. The conversation's banality (text) is transformed by the power of the landscape image, at the same time that it looses its Drama in front of it. With this work the artist suggests a Romantic commitment with his environment, which becomes impossible.

The work questions the appreciation of beauty and the longevity of attraction. 

Richard T. Walker trained in the Goldsmiths College of London (MA) and in Bath Spa University College (BA). He has recently been selected by Hangar, as a foreign artist, to produce a new work during his stay here in Barcelona during the months of August to September 2006. Selected shows include: Don Quixote , Witte de With, Rotterdam, Holland (2006); Disconnet , Whitechapel Art Gallery (2006); Rip it Up and Start Again , Villa delle Rose - Modern Galeria d'Arte, Bologna (2005); Places Íve Been , curated by Hans Op De Beeck, Amsterdam (2004). With Galeria Dels Angels he has participated in the Off Loop festival (2005 and 2004).



"An occasional thing that happens often: Sun & Mountain".


View of the installation.
Text:

I am beautiful, I am elegant, no?
Yes both those things, but I can like you just because of that I can?
Yes I guess you can, I think I like you and I haven't a clue why. Beautiful, yes, to me.
What do you mean to you?
To me.
How about beautiful, y'know, as standard -am I not part of the general consensus?
Perhaps, but I would like to override that and place your beauty in the context of my interests, I want you to belong to my desires, and I like to stay under the illusion that my desires are unique.
Find someone ugly then.
Ideally yes, and I've tried, but I like you, and I hate that you're beautiful.
You hate that I'm beautiful? Great.
See.
What.
Negative –I'm telling you that I see you as beautiful and that you are generically beautiful, and you manage to turn into something far less than positive.
Because you said that you wished I wasn't beautiful.
I, well, I didn't mean that in that way.
I don't care anyway, I'm not sure if I mean any of it last night. I have this suspicion I was acting under a false pretence…
In what way?
In the way that I thought I wanted something but I'm not sure I did. Attraction can be intermittent don't you think?
No… yes I guess… I'm trying to think of an example.
Now… here is your example –I don't particularly find you attractive today, but the chances are that I'll find you irresistible sometime in the future –this afternoon perhaps…
Really? Last night you said I was glowing, radiant were your words.
And you were.
Not now?
No, not this morning.
I hate that.
Me too -

 

Soy bello, soy elegante, ¿no?
Sí, esas dos cosas, pero ¿puedes gustarme sólo por el hecho de poder hacerlo?
Sí, supongo que puedes, yo creo que me gustas no tengo ni idea de por qué. Bello, sí, para mí
¿Qué quieres decir con “para ti”?
Para mí
¿Cómo bello, ya sabes, como estándar –acaso no soy parte del consenso general?
Tal vez, pero me gustaría rechazar eso y ubicar tu belleza en el contexto de mis intereses, quiero que pertenezcas a mis deseos, y me gusta mantenerme en la ilusión de que mis pensamientos son únicos.
Encuentra a alguien feo entonces.
Idealmente, sí, y lo he intentado, pero me gustas, y odio que seas bello.
¿Odias que sea bello? Genial.
Mira.
Qué.
Negativo –te estoy diciendo que te estoy viendo como bello y que lo eres generalmente, y tú intentas convertirlo en algo muy por debajo de algo positivo.
Porque tú dijiste que te gustaría que no fuese bello.
Yo, bien, no quería decirlo en ese sentido.
Igualmente no me importa, no estoy seguro de si quise decir nada de eso la pasada noche. Tengo la sensación de haber estado actuando bajo una falsa apariencia.
¿En qué sentido?
En el sentido de que pensaba que quería algo pero no estoy seguro de que lo hiciese. La atracción puede ser intermitente, ¿no crees?
No… sí, supongo… estoy tratando de pensar un ejemplo.
Ahora…aquí está tu ejemplo –hoy no te encuentro especialmente atractivo, pero hay posibilidades de que te encuentre irresistible en algún momento en el futuro –quizá esta tarde…
¿De veras? La pasada noche dijiste que estaba deslumbrante, “radiante” fueron tus palabras.
Y lo estabas.
¿Ahora no?
No, no esta mañana.
Odio eso.
Yo también –

 

"An occasional thing that happens often: Snow & Trees ".


View of the installation.
Text:

I can feel that today you don't find me particularly attractive.

I remember that time when you said that you thought that attraction was intermittent.

I remember that moment well. I believe that you meant it and it has affected me quite powerfully.

I admit that ever since then I have felt uncomfortable with your gaze.

It has become more intrusive, more demanding and less forgiving.

As you may have noticed I've been making some changes.

Not only in my appearance, but in my demeanour.

I've been trying to adapt my character to suit your needs and your desires.

It has been quite a challenge.

As a result of this I may say some things that aren't completely factual.

But I will put them forward as if they are.

I was wondering if you could please accept this.

So although you may know that I'm wrong and that I am in fact lying, could you please

just continue the conversation without showing any doubt in what I say?

Could you do that, do you think?

 

Puedo notar que hoy no me ves especialmente atractivo.

Recuerdo aquel tiempo en que decías creer que la atracción era intermitente.

Recuerdo bien aquel momento, creo que querías decir eso y me ha afectado con bastante fuerza.

Admito que desde entonces me he sentido incómoda con tu mirada.

Se ha vuelto más indiscreta, más exigente y menos indulgente.

Como tal vez hayas notado, he estado haciendo algunos cambios.

No solo en mi apariencia, sino también en mi comportamiento.

He estado intentando adaptar mi carácter para cumplir tus necesidades y tus deseos.

Ha sido casi como un desafío.

Como resultado de esto podría decir unas cuantas cosas que no son del todo factuales.

Pero las voy a exponer como si lo fuesen.

Me preguntaba si podrías, por favor, aceptarlo.

Así que, aunque tal vez sepas que me equivoco y que, de hecho, estoy mintiendo, ¿podrías simplemente continuar la conversación sin mostrar ninguna duda de lo que estoy diciendo?

¿Crees que podrías hacerlo?