Mel O’Callaghan’s newest exhibition: Centre of the Centre
Parsons Paris Art, Media and Technology instructor Mel O’Callaghan launched a new exhibition entitled Centre of the Centre.
Centre of the Centre, Mel O’Callaghan’s new major exhibition, traces the origins of life and its regenerative forces. The catalyst for this new body of work is one small mineral given to the artist by her grandfather, renowned mineralogist Albert Chapman. The mineral contains a small pocket of water, possibly millions of years old, which holds traces of the elemental forces responsible for all life on Earth. Inspired by the geophysical conditions and potentialities held within this primordial liquid, the artist invites the audience into a total experience.
For this work, O’Callaghan travelled to two sites: one located 4 kilometres deep in the East Pacific Rise, a submerged volcanic mountain range in the eastern Pacific Ocean that roughly parallels the western coast of South America and the other in the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. From the planet’s core, breathing out gases, minerals and other liquids via hydrothermal vents into its oceans, to the centre of the centre of marine biodiversity in the Philippines, life continues despite the extreme conditions it faces.
The exhibition culminates in a breathtaking new large scale video work, accompanied by a multifaceted glass installation that entwines a choreography of, performance, breathing and sculpture.
Respire, Respire is a performance work presented throughout the duration of the exhibition. Taking place in the gallery every Friday and Saturday from 2pm, performers will lead visitors through cyclical breathing, either through active response or observation potentially triggering altered states of consciousness.
The film, sculptures and performance capture the circulatory motion of breath in response to extreme environments. Investigating the elemental template of life on Earth, Centre of the Centre is a celebration of collective strength through resilience.
The exhibition of Mel O’Callaghan’s Centre of the Centre will be accompanied by a publication, designed by Collider, Sydney and published by Artspace. The publication is due for release in the beginning of 2020.
The show is currently on at Museum of Contemporary Art and Design MCAD, Manila, Philippines and will open February at UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Australia and in November at Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Lisbon, Portugal.
http://www.melocallaghan.com/