Sahej Rahal: Mythmachine at BALTIC Gateshead
Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor
Continuing with the BALTIC’s current leading theme of ‘play’ is Sahej Rahal and his new exhibition Mythmachine.
Using immersive virtual reality, the artist has created a digital playground ruled by chance and chaos, affected by the viewer. The piece responds and transforms when ‘players’ enter and interact with the space, and is described as a site of experimentation and rehearsal of co-habitation between non-human and organic systems. Simply put, the exhibit changes around the viewer which deepens the state of immersion.
Rahal is a storyteller – his fictional characters create elaborate myth-like narratives that comment on the forces that shape our reality, rendered in sculptures, performance, paintings, films, installations and digital formats. Alongside the VR playground, visitors will also find 3D-printed sculptures depicting the characters living in the Mythmachine.
The artist takes inspiration from science fiction, folklore, legends and the otherworldliness of his pieces is enhanced by the coherence in aesthetic across his oeuvre. The digital videos with a very ‘online’ quality are realised also as physical sculptures with extremely textured and tactile surfaces. These seem to cross over from the digital realm yet firmly remain there as 3D-printed materials. Look out for the smaller sculptures on orange plinths too – they will respond to your touch with audio feedback.
There are more traditional, 2-dimensional aspects to the exhibition too which showcase Rahal’s drawing skills in the form of comic books. His drawings, dark in tone and atmosphere, are often monochrome and realised in minute detail, with impeccable linework.
Sahej Rahal has previously exhibited his work in the recent Gwangju Biennale, the Liverpool Biennial, the Kochi Biennale and many others and he is the recipient of multiple fellowships.
Come along to the Baltic and experience the immersive otherworldliness for yourself.
