Georgia Chalk - Frank Gillette Spectra Obscura at Microscope Gallery

The Frank Gillette show, Spectra Obscura, at Microscope Gallery offered a unique perspective on nature, degradation, and technology but many of my thoughts as I moved through the space were strangely unimpressed. It was not until I sat and ruminated on the works that a more complete opinion was formed: one entirely different from the first impression. Although I was not particularly interested in the concept of the photos and videos, the sequencing of the images was visually compelling with the kaleidoscopic section moving to the mirrors placed in natural settings to the settings themselves create a story. Specifically when the rocks were thrown into the mirrors (slowly contributing to their destruction) felt like a movement from the abstracted image to the overlaid videos of the trees.

    

The video-works (The Symbiotic Blues specifically) were mesmerizing, having a deeply meditative/mesmerizing feeling to them. It may have been the time-nature subject, but there was a slight scientific atmosphere surrounding the works, especially when considering their presentation and climate conscious messages. There was a similar effect in the photographs where the assemblages of found nature objects left you wondering what you were looking at until the moment the eye registers something familiar. It was intriguing as well to see how he created these effects with and without technology, both video and photograph effectively functioning as collages. In retrospect, it may have been the space that interrupted the flow of the works’ ability to really interact with each other wholly, subsequently the viewer - work relationship.