Erthe installation offers physical and intellectual reflection
This week, Zavitz Gallery features Erthe, “An Exploration into the Cultures and Social Hierarchy of Planet Erthe.” The show includes a number of collaborative works by Tessa McDougall and Dylan Evans. It opened on Sept. 8 and runs until Sept 12. I wandered through the gallery with my friend, Ara Khanamirian, an Animal Bio major, talking about the exhibit. This is a selection from that conversation:
Ara: First, this whole thing is like an art piece altogether. It feels like every single piece complements each other to collectively make “Earth.” I’m getting the feeling that each of these cloth pieces with a face on it represents whatever’s underneath it. See how that one has the alien and then we’ve got samples and specimens? And over here we have something that looks like a cyborg and underneath everything’s electronic. That baby thing is kind of freaking me out.
Will: So, what do you remember of the explanation that you read at the entrance to the gallery?
Ara: Just that aliens came down.
Will: Did you read the whole thing, Ara?
Ara: I got the gist of it. I’ll reread it on my way out. We’ve got this thing in the centre.
Will: Go feel it.
Ara: Is this real?
Will: I think so.
Ara: I know the dirt’s real. That’s pretty cool. This is pretty much what shows “Earth” when you walk in. This is the first thing that grabs your attention and says “Welcome to Earth.”
Will: So, why is Earth spelled differently in the title?
Ara: I have absolutely no idea.
Will: Let’s look at what’s happening in this corner.
Ara: We’ve got hazmat suits. And then we have a scientist, transcribing data I assume. You’re wondering what I think about that. I don’t know. It’s a bunch of dashes and dots, so the first thing that comes to my mind is morse code.
Will: How does it make you feel that there’s another person in the room right now?
Ara: Kind of nervous.
Will: Is she listening to everything you’re saying?
Ara: Pretty sure. I think it’s a really well done altogether piece.
Will: So, you think it’s good art.
Ara: Yeah. I mean, if you were to show me each individual thing without giving me a chance to backtrack and connect everything, I’d probably be very confused, but as an art piece altogether, it connects very well. The centerpiece kind of ties it all together, plus the fog machine gives it a sort of atmosphere. It kind of makes you, the viewer, feel like you landed on Earth and you’re just figuring out what happened by yourself.
Will: You want to go back and look at the sign again?
At this point we reread the description at the entrance of the gallery.
Ara: Yeah, this makes way more sense now. It’s showing “Erthe,” this second Earth in a parallel universe, and two humans from our earth, two scientists, have been sent to research it, which explains the scientist researching.
Will: So, now you get it.
Ara: Now I get it more.
Will: But do you care?
Ara: …Yeah, because it’s cool. It’s like a story, you know? This is what I enjoy about this piece more than other ones that I’ve seen – that it gives you something to go off of. Most pieces, they’re just there and they’re like, “Hey. Figure it out.” But this one’s kind of like, “So, this is what happened. Now figure it out.” It gives you a base to start from, which I really enjoy.
Will: So, you’re exploring the story and you don’t have to write the story yourself.
Ara: Yeah. So, I like it. I like it a lot.