Yoko Ono – Between The Sky and My Head

A retrospective of Yoko Ono’s artworks was recently held at The Baltic contemporary art gallery, I managed to catch the tail end of this show. According to The Baltic’s website a lot of other outdoor exhibitions were held however it all passed me by.

The show itself took up the entirety of two levels in the Baltic one of which was the actual exhibition and the other more of an activity room inviting people to participate on a large scale artwork.

The works themselves spanned various topics from war, to issues of gender and images of the feminine form. Many of the exhibits were very adult in nature and in many ways lived up to the predefined expectations of what Yoko Ono is famous for. However the other overwhelming feelings were of a kind of child like playfulness especially when it came to Amaze.

Although they weren’t letting people walk through Amaze the way the light intersected between the panels of perspex in a kind of beautiful way creating intersecting reflective surfaces. With only one entry and exit point and the path being only the width of a person as a maze it would actually be somewhat impractical, once you were in there it would be difficult to then get out.

Other works had a voyeuristic nature to them encouraging the viewer to look through a variety of holes in walls and doors giving different viewpoints within the rooms themselves. Some spy holes had a view of nothingness and others had great views rewarding the participant for the effort they had put in to reach the viewing spot. Again this had a somewhat playful feeling to it with overtones of playing off the natural human trait of curiosity combined with the thrill of doing something which we should not, playing the peeping tom.

Finally pieces emerged with a sinister and reflective mood. A pile of books reminiscent of nazi book burnings showing just how much we take printed material for granted. Silicon body parts of a woman placed in various boxes which people are invited to touch which reminded me of the psychological theory that modern culture encourages us to see ourselves as pieces rather than a unified whole.

There was plenty to think about here however with only one floor with an exhibition on it was the busiest I’ve ever seen The Baltic. In a way although it was a good show you kind of felt short changed by the fact there wasn’t anything else to see. I’ve been to The Baltic on repeated visits now and sometimes I feel they play off the name value of the artist rather than the quality of the work inside. The space itself is so large and intimidating its hard to get around the appeal of the building and its spectacular views up and down the river Tyne. As you can tell I’m not The Baltic’s biggest fan but that shouldn’t necessarily put you off, but I would recommend visiting their site for the latest about what is on show since they don’t have a permanent exhibition.

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