The audience becomes the art at the NGV Triennial with Jerusalem-born artist Einat Amir’s Coming soon near you. The artist has created a living room where visitors to the NGV Triennial are invited to bring their favourite video, from DVD to VHS, to watch live on TV within the exhibition space in this installation.
In an Australian premiere, Coming soon near you explores human interactions, shares universal moments of family, friends and community, and collapses the boundaries between private and public. Audiences both share and witness typically private domestic moments, munching on provided snacks while they watch their own (G & PG rated) material in the exhibition space, from reminiscing about old VHS home videos with family through to re-watching cherished or classic DVD series with friends.
Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV, said ‘Einat Amir’s interactive activation will no doubt intrigue both exhibition visitors and those participating in the work, as the viewer becomes the subject of the installation. We hope visitors of the Gallery become involved in this unique performance in inviting friends and family to share this special moment with fellow visitors.’
Audiences can register to bring in their own content to watch during allocated session times. In between these allocated times, the television screen in Amir’s installation will display a menu of eight videos, which have been selected by participants in the opening week of the show. Visitors moving through the exhibition space can participate by taking a seat and selecting a film from this menu.
Einat Amir works from her Tel Aviv studio which she calls her ‘lab of emotional research’, examining human behaviour through partly planned, partly spontaneous interactions exhibited as video installations and live performances.
Coming soon near you will be on display at NGV International as part of the NGV Triennial which runs from 15 December 2017 – 15 April 2018. Audiences can register a date and time in advance to screen their film during one of the installation’s daily sessions, each of which can accommodate up to five people.
Entry to the NGV Triennial is free. For bookings please visit the website: NGV.MELBOURNE.
Further information is available from the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE.
Einat Amir’s Coming Soon Near You is Supported by the Trawalla Foundation.