In the vast, white spaces of most art galleries, there's often plenty of room for indifference. Getting people in the door is one thing; getting them to care is quite another. But for installation artist Elizabeth Pedler, art is all about interaction. “I find installations really interesting because it's something the viewer can take an equal part in,” she says. “I'm not forcing people to participate, but if you give people the opportunity to interact with art, they really run with it.”
Interventions In The Present Moment is Pedler's latest solo exhibition at Melbourne's Blindside gallery. The show makes the most of the room's large windows overlooking Federation Square and Flinders Street Station, with a pair of kaleidoscopic works and several interactive pieces involving mirrors. “One of the things I enjoy about mirrors is that people can't escape themselves,” she explains. “A risk with art galleries is that people can almost become a pair of eyes attached to a brain and you can almost forget that you're there.”
There are plenty of artistic themes below the surface of Pedler's work which, unlike those in so much contemporary art, happen to be fun. “To get people to participate at all can be hard enough,” she says, “so I'll be happy if they just come along and enjoy themselves.”
Interventions In The Present Moment runs until Saturday 7 July at Blindside.
