Nam June Paik + Dalston Eastern Curve Garden
Red, green, and blue light beams through plants sprouting inside an old power station. Between fanned and curled leaves, cathode-ray tubes screen Global Grooves (1973)—a video collaboration between Nam June Paik and John Godfrey that blends Eastern and Western cultures into a mass media kaleidoscope. Their progressive yield predated the MTV aesthetic by nearly a decade. Nature and technology coexist at Tate Modern.
Central to Paik’s approach is the Buddhist belief that all things are interdependent and closely connected. He revisited this concept throughout his career, combining the artificial and the organic to underline technology as an extension of the human realm. Paik even constructed humanoids in an attempt to bridge the somatic gap: in the early 1960s, he paired up with electrical engineer Shuya Abe to create Robot K-456, a radio controlled contraption that could walk, play recorded sounds, and even piss.
The mediative burn of One Candle bookends this exhibit and remains a potent symbol of Paik’s interconnectivity. Candle TV (2004; first version, 1975) and Candle Projection (1989) integrate fire, electrical illusion, and visitors’ impact on the work—a flame jumps on wicks real and projected as you get closer.
There’s another experimental green space at Dalston Junction. This East London neighborhood long lacked a public park until 2010, when local resident groups rallied with municipal agencies, designers, and architects to transform a former train line that once diverted travelers eastbound.
Dalston Eastern Curve Garden is the result. Tucked between a series of buildings, this lush community grove shares the footprint of a curiously drawn voting district—a trapezoid-shaped plot strewn with raised planters and bark-chipped paths. Grab a pint of East London Brewing Company’s latest tap from the Garden Cafe and watch a warm glow radiate from the string lights swinging overhead, as a crop of jack-o'-lanterns watch you.
12/12/2019