Senseless - art/bodies/misfits

Bluecoat Gallery, School Lane (30th October - 6th December 2003)

Martin Bruch, Wolfgang Georgsdorf, Rolf Giegold, Ju Gosling, Alison Jones, Sirkka-Liisa Sass, Wolfgang Temmel, Wochenklausur

Review by Adam Ford

I admit it. On my first stroll through this exhibition - part of the Disability Arts festival (DADAFEST) - I just didn’t get it. Each piece seemed so contrived, so deliberately obscure, that I was thinking about calling it ‘pretentious’. According to the promotional spiel, Sinnlos (or ‘Senseless’ in English), is a group that aims for “an egalitarian society that sees difference as a quality and not as stigma”. Sounds good, but what did these weird photos taken from strange angles have to do with anything? Then there were some plastic shapes in a box. Some photos of Liverpool. A giant metal crown thing in the middle of a room. And some silent videos. Nevertheless, I thought I might as well give it another go, and I’m glad I did, because only then did the full force of their creativity hit me. I began to put myself in the place of the artist, and tried to imagine the world as someone who is paraplegic, or has multiple sclerosis or cone rod dystrophy, senses it. My own sense of reality had blinded me to their meanings. So much so, the fact that I was getting-over a cold meant I walked-straight past one exhibit!

The overall effect of the exhibition is inspiring. I say this not in an ‘oh, they’re so brave’ kind of way, because as Wolfgang Temmel (designer of ‘Entry’) stated, the artists do not - “as puppies” - seek charity or pity. It is inspiring because - to better use a phrase coined by touchy-creepy politically correct types - they truly are “differently-abled”. For them, their ‘disability’ is a form of individuality - something to be celebrated - that gives them a unique perspective from which to produce art. Everyone is unique, so everyone can create art that celebrates who they are!
Or at least, that’s how I saw it anyway....