The color purple combines the calm stability of blue with the fierce energy of red and is often associated with meditation and spirituality. It stands for the perfect duality, two opposites that coexist on the same level.
British artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah, presented his new solo exhibition "Purple" at Museu Berardo (8/11/2018-10/3/2019), where he created an immersive six-channel video installation that combines archival material with newly staged footage and a hypnotic and melancholic soundtrack put together by his long-time collaborator, the composer Trevor Mathinson.
When entering the exhibition, a monochrome world where everything, from the big walls to the soft carpets has a deep purple tone, the spectator is welcomed by a general cozy sensation and a full-bodied sound coming from the screens that fill the room with images, both in colors and black and white, carrying who watches in a deep condition of mindfulness and self-reflection.
It's almost a controversial matter, the artist chose to create such a relaxing environment in order to discuss one of the biggest issues of our times, something that should make us feel quite the opposite of comfortable.
During the screening, people can choose to stand, sit on the pillow-coated benches placed across the room, or lay directly on the carpet that covers the floor. The place is big enough to never feel too crowded so that everyone can find a moment to be alone with the images, the sound, and their own thoughts.
At a time when, according to the UN, greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are at their highest levels in history, with people experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, like shifting weather patterns, rising sea level, animal extinction, melting glaciers and more extreme weather events, Akomfrah’s "Purple" brought a multitude of ideas into conversation, especially questioning human responsibility.
The director chose regions with particularly climate-sensitive ecosystems, such as Greenland, Alaska, French Polynesia and some parts of the UK to shoot the newest scenes of his meditative documentary, while extracting the archive ones from movies and BBC cultural tv programs. These two timeframes are combined to form a multi-layered montage of politics, history, and fiction, that opens for a multitude of reflections on the delicate relationship between humans and the planet.
As a result of this composition of image and sound, the final exhibition feels like a world apart, some spiritual journey into the human conscience.
While sitting in the purpleness of the big room, in a state of deep body relaxation, the observer is literally irradiated by light and vibrations that make him reflect and question one of the biggest issues of our times: the strenuous relationship between humans and nature. After 62 minutes of meditation in the warm, soft and cozy space, the spectator finally leaves the purple world, and while exiting the museum with a shiver running down his spine, he is forced to face the cold reality pictured in the documentary.
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