Robin Moody
March 5th to April 10th, 2010
Robyn Moody’s seductive new installation will involve chains of several hundred interlocking gears on the floor of the gallery space, powered into a perpetual grinding movement. From each gear a post extends, and mounted at the top of each post is a circular mirror tilted at varying angles. The effect of the combined movement and reflection is mesmerising. As the mirrors rotate light is reflected creating a shimmering effect. An early version of the work can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etKDeTQoiNQ.
Moody has configured the gears into “lakes,” the contours of which specifically refer to bodies of water that draw off of the Athabasca watershed. Underlying the aesthetic allure of this work the artist has also inscribed a dark content, implicating a mania that drives both a thirst for power (in a very literal sense), as well as a blatant disregard for the environment. In this way the gallery becomes a scale version of industrial spectacle, so awesome yet frightening in the same breadth.
