Charles Avery
'Maquette of the Eternity Chamber, from the Palace of the Gulls'
For the Lyon Biennial 2007 (17 September - 6 January) Charles Avery will present his monumental sculpture ‘The Eternity Chamber, from the Palace of the Gulls’. Timed to coincide with this, ARQUEBUSE is delighted to exhibit the intricate maquette of the chamber, with related works and drawings.
The ‘Palace of the Gulls’ takes us further into the epic project ‘The Islanders' that will finally culminate in an encyclopaedia in several large leather-bound volumes, describing the topology and cosmology of an imaginary island. Every element of this island or planetary sphere, from its geology to its inhabitants, flora and fauna, and systems of belief, embodies a philosophical proposition, problem or solution.
In this chapter we are told the history of a cult that has developed around an ancient madman whose followers believe has been told the secret of eternity from a speaking Seagull, the incarnation of an unworldly being called Miduso. At the centre of the cult of the Palace of the Gulls is a chamber built to allow its followers to also attain eternal secrets. Avery describes the chamber as follows:
“A hexagonal prism a good deal taller that a man, and wide from point to point just so little as to make it uncomfortable to lie down. The floor and ceiling are tessellated with equilateral triangular glass tiles of different colours, that repeat their design into eternity being reflected in each internal facet of the chamber by back painted glass derived of the finest kelp. Lights are concealed within the dome and base of the chamber that illuminate its interior when one is closed inside, an experience which is guaranteed to render one ‘like the man’.
“Several acolytes have taken the plunge. When one does, a ceremony is performed with great solemnity, which culminates in the subject being closed in the chamber for only a matter of seconds before being released. The results are on first appearances compelling, for the subject emerges in a trance like state, insensible to everything around them, yet with eyes wide open staring into the near distance. Yet I fear this is a very different madness from that of the man, for whereas he seems able to successfully navigate himself through the physical world, his imitators do not and within days walk into some fatal situation, either off a cliff or drowning in a bog. They become so accident prone that it is impossible to verify whether or not they have achieved a remarkable biological longevity. Nevertheless there is always another applicant who believes themselves to be different, who wouldn’t be so stupid as to walk off a cliff.”
Charles Avery is currently working towards a major solo exhibition at parasol unit, London in 2008. In 2007 Charles Avery has been included in the Scottish Pavilion of the 52nd Venice Biennale, the ‘Triennale Bovisa’ TIMER, Milan, the Athens Biennial, and the Biennale de Lyon. Avery was born in 1973, Oban, Scotland and currently lives and works in London.
Maquette for the Eternity Chamber, the Palace of the Gulls', 2007, bronze, copper, aluminium, steel, plaster, mirror, perspex, light, computer fan, ventilation and electrical cabling, 106 x 40 x 40 cm, (A00332)
The Gulls, (detail) 2007, Plaster; in 3 panels, Each panel: 77 x 80 cm; total dimensions 77 x 240 cm, Edition of 3, (A00387)
The Gulls, 2007, Plaster; in 3 panels, Each panel: 77 x 80 cm; total dimensions 77 x 240 cm, Edition of 3, (A00387)
Sketch for the Eternity Chamber, 2007, Graphite, and coloured pencil on paper, paper: 27 x 17.5 cm, frame: 36.5 x 26.7 cm, (A00333)