Steve Lovett is a well respected New Zealand artist whose print work always explores alternative ways to use print and tell stories. In his current print and sound project Echo Chamber, which is on at the Fisher Gallery between 19 October and 26 November 2000, Lovett presents a series of visually interactive images and spoken monologues.
Fixed to the walls of the studio gallery are a series of images of people etched on to mirror glass. The specifics of the individual are not clear. Behind the images is set a small speaker from which the viewer can hear a recorded story.
Special lighting, supplied by ECC Lighting and Living, is used to reflect the image onto a variety of wall surfaces, and with these reflections the image changes. Sometimes it is skewed out of proportion, sometimes the parameter of the mirror tile encases the images of the person, and sometimes the reflected image of the person floats on the painted walls as if a person is actually watching from the wall surface.
With sound tracks, Lovett attempts to give speech directly to the participants in the work. The soundtrack records a free recollection of a particular memory, some recent and specific, some distant. In this work the subjects speak of their own cultural places and stories, lending personal perspectives to images which cross from the private to public realm.
Rhoda Fowler, Fisher Gallery Curator, says ‘Steve Lovett’s prints are always experimental and interactive. He has an extremely sensitive approach to presenting portraits and people’s personal stories, which will touch visitors to the exhibition.’
Ephemera
→ Steve Lovett: Echo Chamber, 2000, exhibition card
Download
→ Steve Lovett: Echo Chamber, 2000, publication