MIKLOS GAÁLInstallation 4.4.2009 – 26.4.2009

In his current exhibition, Miklos Gaál (b.1974) turns his attention to a variety of different topics in a variety of different techniques, including video and photography presenting them in different formats. He continues his exploration of photography, with a particular interest in the emphasis placed on the subjective nature of experience, reinterpretating the subject from its context and the way in which a photograph dismantles the illusion of reality.

Gaál notes that for his video installation Hey Homer! (Epic Proportions), 2009, he has captured "slowly moving smoke formations assuming a life of their own, their proportions becoming increasingly blurred. The images have been captured using a high-speed camera that allows one second of footage to be stretched over five minutes. The result is almost like looking into a time microscope where the smoke creates a neverending variety of shapes and formations. The title is a reference, not just to Homer, but also to storytelling. The motif in itself is not significant, what is important is how it acts as a projection surface for the viewer." The exhibition also includes photomontages.

For his Phrases Project slide installation (1993-) Gaál has drawn on a selection of quotes, excerpts from conversations he has overheard and recorded in his sketchbooks over the years. Gaál says "these dialogues I have quoted give you very quickly an idea of the original situation. Like a photograph, the lines create their own version of the reality they depict and leave us with a mere trace of what has passed. My piece is concerned with linguistic expression, the conditions and limitations that govern it. It is as if these spontaneous and trivial utterances offer a solution to the original situation. They stem from the need to think of an relieving explanation or can simply reflect sudden bursts of temper."

"Even a tiny moment can tell a story. A familiar view can be revealed to us in a new and unexpected light. I might see something that previously remained hidden, something that changes the way I see my surroudings and myself. Suddenly, I can feel like I understand and feel something very intensely."

Rauli Heino