Tate Liverpool - Alice in Wonderland

While we were in Liverpool I wanted to visit the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the Tate, as I have been fascinated with Alice in Wonderland from a very young age. I didn't read any reviews about the exhibition before I went so I was completely unaware of what to expect but I automatically presumed it would be illustrations and memorabilia from books and films and I think that is why I was extremely excited. However the majority of the exhibition was works inspired by Lewis Carroll's book, some of the work was ok but I wasn't too impressed. One piece that did stand out to me was a piece called 'Through the Looking Glass' by Douglas Gordon that had two screens almost facing each other on opposite ends of the room with a scene from Taxi Driver.

'Through a looking glass - consisting of two large-scale video projections which quote one of Hollywood's most memorable scenes. Using a monologue from Martin Scorcese's "Taxi Driver," Gordon traps the viewer between two images of Travis Bickle, one 'real' and the other a 'reflection of the real'. The projections appear at first to be mirror images of one another but they quickly trip out of sync and into a manic dialogue which bounces around the gallery, both visually and audibly.'

The reason this piece stood out to me was the fact you were enclosed within a black room that had two large projections of this scene where you constantly have to look back and forth from each screen, it was almost like you were involved and in the middle of the conversation. Over the last couple of months after visiting a few different galleries and exhibitions I have come to like the more interactive pieces what I mean by this is moving image and still pieces that make you feel a part of the piece like the 'Black Flood' and 'Kiss' at the Whitworth art Gallery. It makes the piece more interesting to watch and also engages conversation with the people you are experiencing it with, so you gain more than just your own thoughts and opinions.

Over all I think the exhibition was fairly good even thought it was not at all what I was expecting and I am glad i got to visit as for my final major project I have been strongly leading towards creating a piece of work inspired by a famous narrative and interpreting it in my own way.