The Nerve Meter(re) 0.0011

David O’Donoghue
Conical Inc 3 Rochester Steet Fitzroy, October 2006

Described as part instrument and part installation, The Nerve Meter(re) 0.0011 worked as a perfect syncopation of the visual and audible. With its bubble-bright cables and boxes visually echoing Mondrian modernism, or Ikea design depending on your cultural references, the whole gallery became one nervy system. With all these unruly storage systems pretending to contain the intangible, moving into and through the space felt like being inside an iMac.

The usually unnoticed or ignored noises of the Conical gallery and its surroundings were recorded by the artist on an earlier visit. Recordings were then composed, amplified, distorted and reset daily in the space alongside the audible hum of shortwave transistor radios – all allowing an element of accident, or maybe the will of the work itself to have a presence. The physical aspects of the work trying in vain to store or compartmentalise stuff that is uncontainable.

Branded as a “Conical Curated” project, this has certainly been a highlight in the Conical program, but aren’t all shows at Conical selected and supported by the committee? It looks like a few Artist-Run Initiatives in Melbourne are starting to provide more support for certain exhibitions allowing for larger scale or interstate work. It’s great they are finding ways to develop extended projects and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact these shows may have on overall programming for ARIs.
Rosemary Forde

Table of Contents

Common Room 2
465 Grand Street New York, Sept - Nov 2006

I have an ongoing conversation with a friend about Australia being ahead of the rest of the world in a number of ways. Australia took the lead in a new wave of neo-conservatism when it elected and kept re-electing the Howard government. The USA followed suit, Italy got themselves Berlusconi and Britain moved the whole centre-left to the centre-right.

Given the conservative cultural condition that has ensued, the ‘alternative’ art scene, particularly in Melbourne, has never been without a good idea. One of these was Melbourne’s MIR 11, a space in the foyer of the offices of architects ARM, on the 11 floor of a public car park. Now closed possibly due to differences of opinion between the directors of MIR 11 and the architects, more specifically ARM removing artworks they didn’t like from MIR 11 exhibitions (read more here especially comments).

And as one artist-run space closes usually another one opens or more interestingly becomes nomadic such as Clubsproject. So it is with interest that we note the first exhibiton at Common Room 2 a space in the foyer of Common Room architectural offices in Manhattan's lower east side. A project that will be continually renovated in an open-ended process of participatory decision making. go to review
Jacqueline Riva

More Studio Visits Melbourne

'After having spent almost two months in Melbourne, we consider the truly distinctive element of the city, and a source of pride, its strong presence of artist-run spaces and artist-run initiatives.' read more
Italian curators Chiara Agnello and Roberta Tenconi were in Australia between July and September 2006
see earlier post about studio visits

Sydney Biennale 'Politics in Aspic'

2006 Sydney Biennale June-August

'Politics in aspic', a close friend said of the 2006 Biennale of Sydney Zones of Contact, and try as I might I cannot disagree with him. click here to read Jarrod Rawlin's review of the 2006 Sydney Biennale
Adrian Paci
Noise of Light 2006
thanks to Flash Art for permission to publish the unedited version of this text first published in Flash Art October 2006