Wiping out the competition - Klaus Weber at the Nottingham Contemporary
 

Political, social, environmental and scientific factors are all crossovers in society which affect the public space. Bound together in a continuum, these subject matters can have powerful effects. In both eccentric exhibitions, Klaus Weber’s art works have become a proposal for social order. Weber has transformed the Contemporary gallery spaces into a laboratory and science museum, where art works are mechanically engineered and eclectic objects appear as artefacts.

Even from the outside, the experience begins. A giant windscreen has taken over the gallery window, which is consequently the title of the exhibition. The windscreen wipers and pouring rain are situated on the inside of the window, the exhibition functions as a vehicle, battling the challenges of the outside world. Glancing up at the Contemporary roof, running man is situated like a comic book character running off the edge of a building. The wealth of ideas, experiences and objects in both exhibitions, lets the spectator dive into the mindset of the artist, exploring his conceptual approach to the natural world.

Before entering both galleries, Weber’s video work can be seen projected on the bookshop wall. He has created a video series specifically on fountains in public spaces signifying how water brings people together. Fountain Loma Dr/W 6^th St is a staged accident in L.A where a car crashes into a fire hydrant causing a fountain of water to explode out onto the pavement. This theatrical display uses the fire hydrant as a symbol of release; it is releasing the earth of its toxins. The dominance of the car and the season of drought in America’s history is Weber’s way of sending out an environmental and political message.

The exhibitions are staged in two distinct sections. In Galleries One and Two, Weber’s art works and installations can be viewed in a bright, artificial light. Space is given to oversized objects. Large dark Wind Chime is a particularly consuming piece. The combination of Tritone and Arabic tones creates an emotionally charged atmosphere. The disharmonic sounds emit bad vibes and the negativity surrounding this oversized ornament is quite unpleasant. It’s hardly surprising that the Medieval Church banned this musical scale centuries ago for summoning the likes of the devil.

Fountain Lorma Dr/ W 6th - Klaus Weber

In succession, Galleries Three and Four are darkened, and house the 200 objects dating back to 1,000,000 years ago. Enrico Baj, Louise Bourgeois and William Hogarth are just some of the artist’s works which have been taken from the Tate Museum and zoological collections of University College London. The compilation seems wild and strange at first, however after dissecting the layers of meaning and considering the physical effects, Weber has been very precise in his selection process.

Objects are given new life and a voice, something you would expect from their surrealist creators. Bird Cage from Sussex Lunatic Asylum is another striking element of the exhibition and touches on the psychological aspect of Weber’s work. It is a matter of inversion again, where a system is mimicked, in this case a mental asylum. The idea of a ‘cage within a cage’ imitates how it must feel to be one of the human inmates. Is the artist questioning the spectator? Are they the patient? This process of psychological image making creates a new sense of social reality. Weber is not stripping away the context; he is amplifying it, making a non-art object art.  

All four galleries deconstruct how a museum, or equally a laboratory, works. The art object acts as a proposal, they are spiritually, politically and scientifically all interconnected. The Contemporary has evolved into a system where relationships are radically inverted between humans and nature. From Bronze Age animal figures to abandoned ruins and urban spaces, the artist expresses an extreme amount of narrative involvement.

You don’t have to be an art historian to enjoy the Klaus Weber Exhibition. If you have an interest in the environment or like archaeological discoveries then this thought-provoking exhibition will allow you to dig your way through the mindset of one of the most controversial artists of the decade.

Klaus Weber "If you leave I'm not coming" runs at Nottingham Contemporary until 8th Jan 2012

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