Perth Voice Interactive

EINSTEIN’S theory of relativity and South African apartheid come together in a joint PICA and WA art gallery exhibition, The Refusal of Time.

Johannesburg artist William Kentridge’s father was an ardent opponent of the country’s officially racist divide and was one of a few white South Africans who offered legal representation to those suffering under it.

“Kentridge’s art is an astounding inquiry into humanity and universal and primordial issues in the modern age, some of which stem from his first-hand experience of the political and social struggles of his homeland,” PICA curator Lee Robb says. Trained in drama and theatre before switching to art, Kentridge’s latest exhibition is a vast installation of five videos, combining the magic of theatre, drawing and music with film and animation: it entirely covers the walls of the extensive PICA Gallery.

a cacophony of sound, movement and action demonstrating how time is forced onto people…

His interest in the nature of time was sparked while studying at Harvard, where he met eminent quantum physics professor Peter Galison, who was working on a paper by Einstein.

Until trains came along no-one in London or Edinburgh cared what the time was in Paris or Brussels.

But trains needed to run on time and times needed to match between points of departure and arrival—it had to be understood. Time fascinated Einstein, who theorised it is not absolute but relative and resistant to control: the concept revolutionised science and heralded a new dawn of discoveries.

The Refusal of Time is a cacophony of sound, movement and action demonstrating how time is forced onto people, including PICA staff.

“We have to set the exhibits each Monday to make sure they keep time,” Robb says.

But there’s scope for rebellion, with exploding clocks part of the fun.

Kentridge is considered at the top of his field and the The Refusal of Time is regarded a coup for WA: a number of Australian capital cities had been keen to premier it.

Audience numbers have been gratifying: as the 30-minute loop plays out, “chairs fill up and people stop and stare”.

The exhibition is free and on until April 27, at PICA in Perth’s cultural centre. And there’s a free talk by UWA adjunct associate professor Gary Dufour on the works of Kentridge Tuesday March 4, 6pm.

by JENNY D’ANGER