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B8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 19, 2000 A rts & Entertainm ent Oah title Reai'er Entertainment Editor: C a rd Baldwin 845-3824 (Extension 254); Fax; 337-5567; E-mail: baidwin@ haltonsearch.com Interactive exhibit blends art with reality and memory By C a ro l B a ld w in ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR f you like interactive art exhibi tions and think you're adept at following instructions, the audio exhibition currently on at Oakville Galleries' in Gairloch Gardens is sure to challenge both hemispheres of your brain. Janet Cardiff's A Large Slow River begins inside Gairloch Gallery with a portable CD player; and the moment the earphones are secure and the CD is playing, you are involved in the process. The very first thing you hear has you questioning whether or not the sound is on the CD or in the gallery. And this happens a lot throughout Cardiff's guided journey as you hear children laughing, sea gulls scream ing, waves lapping against the wall... That confusion - or is it fusion with the artist and the environment is the basis of this exhibit that takes you around Gairloch Gardens in a exploratory stroll that not only links you to the artist, who is one of two speakers on the CD, but to the beauti ful gardens and lakefront grounds. Although the entire CD is only 17 minutes long, the walk itself can take much longer, depending on your desire to stop and enjoy some of the points of interest along the way and your ability to follow instructions - 1 got lost a number of times, taking a wrong turn a couple of times and unable to spot a specified landmark on other occasions. One word of advice, though, do not under any circumstances press the rewind button on the CD player to try to get your bearings. That is definite ly a mistake, especially after you've passed the halfway mark, since the CD does not rewind; it returns to the beginning, and you must fast forward, slowly, to get to where you were. I did that a couple of times, only to add frustration to the emotions that are supposed to be evoked by this inter active exhibit. Emotions will definitely vary from person to person, depending on your own memories. For example, some of the memories on the CD relate to wartime and overhead artillery fire. If you were involved in a war, these background noises will probably have an entirely different affect on you than they did on me. To me they were reminders of a time past, a time when the destruction of the landscape, although devastating, was minuscule when compared to the destruction of lives and families. But it was not a time of personal involvement or immediate tragedy for me. These noises, and consequently images, are interspersed with the real sounds around you, which in my case included the excited voices of people in a wedding party. Since I took the "guided tour" after a rain shower, it was particularly uncanny when Cardiff mentioned how nice the gar dens are after the rain, "everything is so fresh." I had to smile and agree. (S e e `W h ere's ' on page B7) Photos by Barrie Erskine Beaver photographer Barrie Erskine and Arts-andEntertainment editor Carol Baldwin, above, followed Janet Cardiff's audio exhibit, A Large Slow River, through Gairloch Gardens last week. This interactive exhibition has participants donning a portable CD play er and following the artist's instructions as she compels them to literally stop and smell the roses (left). The CD also includes memories and background noises that encourage listeners to incorporate their own experi ences, which our photographer did in the top left photo. This tree art, not included on the CD's sights, was of interest to the artist in him. ROYAL BANK FESTIVAL OF CLASSICS In association with THE O AKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE P E R F O R M IN G ARTS presents M UCH HDQ A B O U T N O T H IN G SHAKESPEARE'S delightful romantic comedy directed by lime's a whole new world out there. discover it today. a n , I T MICHAEL SHAMATA M O N D A Y to SATURDAY at 8:00 pm WWW.Q, tiE O U L * . fl icvillebeaver.com Conner ting you to your community V CORONATION PARK Oakville Tickets $15 · General Admission Tickets available at The Oakville Cen tre for the Performing Arts and Book ers Bookstore, O akville ROYAL 6. SUNAILIANCF ST. LAWRENCE CEM EN T Tint hhittbus T he Oakville B eaver ROYAL B A N K F IN A N C IA L GROUP JULY 19th to A U G U S T 12th 2000 I