Text by Daniel Potts
Anri Sala (b. 1974, Tirana) is a leading contemporary artist who, since dealing with personal experience as a reflection of social and political change in his native Albania in his early videos and films, has come to attach a growing importance to sound in relation to the image. Sala’s long-standing interest in performance is connected with this development, a connection which is evident in his current exhibition at Serpentine Gallery, in which most of the works use live performance as their starting point, or could lead to live performance in the future. Conceived as a cycle, or loop, the exhibition is structured around pairs of works that echo each other, therefore it would be a mistake to examine individual works in isolation. The sense of the general unity of the exhibition as a whole is achieved successfully in the use of half-light throughout, which, depending on the mood of the viewer, is either conducive to the anodyne or mild distress. Either state might be suitable for a rewarding interaction with these interrelated, bipartite works; however, the tranquilly disposed would gain more immediate benefit. Reflecting the way in which the exhibition is conceived as a cycle, the space loops round back to the beginning; thus, Serpentine Gallery is an ideal space in this regard.
