Everywhere Instantly

Daniel Crooks. "Train no.1", Still, 2002-2008 DV/DVD.

Courtesy of the Artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery

The foul weather being what it was yesterday, I slipped into Christchurch Art Gallery to take a look at the digital video works by New Zealand-born Melbourne-based artist, Daniel Crooks, who, coincidentally (and deservedly) last night won the inaugural $100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize in Melbourne. I’m not sure what I was expecting of his current Christchurch show (entitled 'everwhere instantly') but suffice to say my expectations were blown out of the water! Amazing stuff! The 13-metre wide screening of “Train no.1” is mesmerising. I sat there watching it, totally captivated, for far longer than what might be considered decent. I’m not even going to begin to try and explain his renowned ‘timeslice’ technique other than to say it has transformed his station-to-station journey through suburban Melbourne into a hypnotic, wide-screen meditation. This giant rippling wave of motion and colour has to be seen to be believed. There are other fascinating video works on show too, but it was “Train no.1” that I fell in love with. Unfortunately I've had to reduce these images so they do the work very little justice. You'll just have to make a point of visiting the show if you're in Christchurch. You won't be disappointed. www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz