You can imagine how excited I was when I got the press release from the NSW Art Gallery that Bill Viola was coming to town. Not only was he going to exhibit at the gallery but he was also going to show two of his most famous works – Fire Woman and Tristan’s Ascension – at my favorite Sydney church St Saviour’s in Redfern.
I rang my friend Helen, who I knew was also a big fan, and we arranged to try to get invitations to the opening at the church. A couple of weeks’ later three tickets to the press call were secured. Even more exciting was the revelation that Bill was going to be there – I might get to meet him!
On the big night (April 8th), John (my partner) and I arrived early (I’m always early for things I am looking forward to). Waiting for Helen, we met John Kaldor and I thanked him for his kind gift to Australia of $35 million worth of art – how embarrassing…
Once Helen had arrived, we took our seats towards the back of the church, and there he was, the man I had been looking forward to seeing for weeks. Small and ordinary-looking, he started to speak quietly and humbly. He mused about death and the moment when the soul actually left the body. He reminisced about spending that time with both his parents as they died and how profoundly it had affected him. And he spoke of his exploration of this moment through his video and sound installations.
The gaggle of journalists, photographers and assorted invited guests started to do those sideways looks that people do when they are not sure about what they are hearing. It was all starting to get a bit “hippy trippy”.
Then the lights dimmed and the show started with his video/sound installation Fire Woman.
Bill Viola writes of the piece: “Fire Woman is an image seen in the mind’s eye of a dying man. The darkened silhouette of a female figure stands before a wall of flame. After several minutes she moves forward, opens her arms, and falls into her own reflection. When the flames of passion and fever finally engulf the inner eye, and the realisation that desire’s body will never again be met blinds the seer, the reflecting surface is shattered and collapses into its essential form-undulating wave patterns of pure light.”
For me, watching the silhouette of the woman in front of the flames, while listening to the roar of the fire, was haunting. I had no idea what to expect, everything happened slowly, and when the woman plunged into the water I experienced a sense of loss. As the screen slowly darkened and the sound diminished I felt empty.
The second offering shown that night, Tristan’s Ascension, was in a similar vein.
Bill Viola writes: “Tristan’s Ascension describes the ascent of the soul in the space after death as it is awakened and drawn up in a backwards flowing waterfall. The body of a man is seen lying on a stone slab in an empty concrete room. Small drips of water become visible as they leave the ground and fall upward into space. What starts as a light rain soon becomes a roaring deluge, and the cascading water jostles the man’s limp body and soon brings him to life. His arms move of their own accord and his torso arches upward amidst the churning water. Finally, his entire body rises off the slab and is drawn up with the rushing water, disappearing above. The torrent of water gradually subsides and the drips decrease until only the empty slab remains, glistening on the wet ground. “
The fact that the water is rising instead of falling is hard to come to grips with at first. I knew it is wrong but found it hard to pinpoint why. The crescendo of the dripping water as the body of the man ascends is deafening and disturbing. The body’s progression through the air wasn’t smooth which made me feel apprehensive.
For me Tristan’s Ascension was the most moving of the two pieces, especially in light of a conversation I’d recently had with John (my partner) about his mother’s wishes when she died.
When it was finished and the lights came up there was complete and utter silence. The works had moved everyone in the room, and when someone made a joke about never having witnessed a room full of journalists speechless before, a nervous titter went out.
Afterwards, I embarrassed myself (again) by gushingly introducing myself to Bill, telling him about my experience in New York and thanking him for changing my whole perception of art…
If you only see one exhibition this year make it this one. It only takes about twenty minutes.
Bill Viola: The Tristan Project
Fire Woman, 2005
Tristan’s Ascension (The Sound of a Mountain Under a Waterfall, 2005
at St Saviour’s Church, Redfern
A Kaldor Art Project in conjunction with St Saviour’s Church
9 April to 23 May 2008, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Bill Viola: The Tristan Project
The Fall into Paradise, 2005
at Art Gallery of New South Wales
10 April to 27 July 2008
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