Exhibition

Heimo Zobernig + Ian Burn
Pestorius Sweeney House, May 2004

Zobernig installs Acetate/Mylar Mirror Piece, 1967, by Ian Burn (1939—1993), on the feature wall of the predominantly glazed exhibition space. In accordance with Burn's instructions, Zobernig uses ordinary masking tape to fix the four sheets of mylar (mirror foil), side by side at eye-level. The first sheet is covered by a single sheet of clear acetate, the second with two sheets of acetate, and so on (the effect being to increasingly suppress the viewer’s recognition of himself as he moves from left to right). Behind the existing pelmets the artist installs curtain rails spanning the entire length and breadth of the room, then hangs ‘curtains’ of mirror foil using strips of timber and metal clips at top and bottom. The mirror curtains can be easily moved back and forth along the rails and depending where they are positioned (e.g. in front of openings, solid walls or windows), appear more or less reflective or transparent. The abundance of glazing in the room, much of which slides laterally, provides another level of reflective experience, while unpredictable movement of the mirror curtains (caused by gentle breezes and/or viewer proximity), leads to disorienting reflective distortion. A symposium involving Zobernig, the Burn scholar Ann Stephen, and the critic Rex Butler is held on the occasion of the exhibition opening.