THE BRIEFCASE PROJECT, 8-14 AUG, THISTLE HALL

In a lot of ways, great art is as much about limitations as it is ideas. For a great example of a real synergy between these two pieces of framing, you would do well to wander past Thistle Hall (on upper Cuba Street) this week. Inside the gallery space, holding residence until the 14th of August, is an intriguing exhibition succinctly titled The Briefcase Project.

 

The Briefcase Project is a group show of eighteen artists. As my use of the term limitations in the previous paragraph alluded to, each artist has been given the spatial limitation of one briefcase. Within this briefcase, (again as my use of the term ideas in the previous paragraph alluded to) the artists were instructed to explore the limits of their creative potential. From an actual arts perspective, The Briefcase Project is an installation art exhibition, a shift facilitated by replacing canvas with briefcase, in the process elevating the works into three dimensional form.

I went to the opening tonight (Monday the 8th of August) and it was really cool. Because I actually want you to check this out (and by that I mean peruse it properly) I’m not going to give too much away. Let’s just say the range of brief interpretations are pretty wide. Expect sculpture, sound design, puppetry, textiles, tattoo art, illustration and more, or maybe less. You won’t really know for sure if you don’t skip past and dedicate some decent time to looking around.

More than just looking though, you’ll be getting hands on. Touching, smelling, listening, playing. It’s an interactive exhibition and should be treated as such. My favourite pieces are the visual discourse on the concept of “stolen land” and a beautiful piece of sound design, delivered on a very old school reel machine. The Briefcase Project! Eureka!