Arlo Mountford’s installation Revolutions is currently on show at the vitrine space Assembly Point in Southbank, Naarm/Melbourne, in the centre of the city’s Arts Precinct.
Situated firmly within a busy public thoroughfare, this installation comprises a series of mechanical thaumatropes mounted onto wooden trestles. A nineteenth century toy, the thaumatrope presents a paper disk that spins rapidly, creating an optical illusion through which a total image emerges. In Mountford’s work Revolutions, the phrases “It’s time.” and “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!” arise through this accelerated motion, instating a familiar, verbalised text in this unfamiliarised public setting. In this regard, the phrases emerge through an absence of authorship; blurred directives in a busy section of the city which emanate out of a dark vitrine, the works circumvent further context, instead presenting as sinister affirmations that question the present, future and past.
Arlo Mountford
Revolutions
Assembly Point, Southbank, VIC
28 February – 31 March 2024