by Kylie Eastley
Anything Can Break is an installation by Pinaree
Sanpitak from Thailand. This work draws you into the white room just inside the
first floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Hanging from the ceiling are a
collection of hundreds of handmade silver paper boxes and blown glass bulbs.
Individually they are fragile, but en masse they create an imposing structure
that hangs above you like a storm cloud or an alien spaceship.
It is imposing and slightly ominous, but this is broken by
the sounds that are triggered as you walk under sensors placed within
particular boxes. There is a real joy in finding these and the types of sounds
evoke euphoria and balance the weight of what hangs above. Sounds echo through me and we, me and
the other visitors, become integral to this work. It is crisp, beautiful, warm
and inviting. I could have stayed in the room for quite a while.
Along the wall is the work of Alwar Balasubramaniam titled Nothing
From My Hands, 2011. White, thick and cement-like eruptions punching out of
the white walls. The distorted shapes and curves create shadows and characters
that give the impression of busting out, reaching out, pulling, twisting and
tension. They are tactile and meld beautifully into the wall.
The two works sit well within the space and have been well
executed. Well placed lighting compliments both and add to the sense of
movement. They are a welcoming and easy introduction to the Biennale and invite
me to revisit.
