John Hansard Gallery

Abducted by aliens, yet feet firmly on earth – this can only mean one thing: dreaming. Haroon Mirza’s Waves and Forms at the John Hansard Gallery transcends our very consciousness into another dimension. This is the very purpose of the show, Mirza states, the installations allow us to let our minds drift from reality, and each room toys with our senses. 

Indeed, it is almost impossible to comprehend anything outside of each room, as pulsating hummings warp our minds and allows no space for internal thought. The way Mirza’s installations manipulate our senses is most apparent with the hypnotic Dream machine,  which plummets us into a state of chaotic meditation – unsurprisingly, as his work is described as a coalition of ‘physics, shamanism, artificial intelligence and astrology’¹. It is like you’re on your seventh coffee of the morning and ready to fall into a deep comatose sleep at the same time. In contrast, it almost feels like stepping into a tranquil peace garden when entering Pavilion for Optimism, where the crisp white surroundings and non-parallel walls allow us to be encompassed by echoes that we can control, allowing us to take as much or little of the room as we want.

Throughout the show, there is an indescribable feeling of safety and other worldliness within each room, whether it’s the soundproofed walls, beanbags, lack of natural light (for the most part), or noises that can only be reminiscent of running a long bath after a hard day, even the harsh flashing lights can’t stop the mind entering a dreamlike state.
¹ https://www.jhg.art/event-detail/433-haroon-mirza-waves-and-forms/

Haroon Mirza: Waves and Forms at the John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, 19.10.19 – 11.1.20.