Reto Pulfer's Gewässerzeiten

Reto Pulfer’s exhibition at Bristol’s Spike Island presents a mixed-media, multi-part, assemblage contemporary instillation with a refreshing sense of imagination. Named Gewässerzeiten, which, according to Spike’s literature, roughly translates to “waters-times”, Pulfer’s exhibition is made up of several pieces including a “Maps” series of rough paintings, an assemblage of items under the name Methoden und Spieletisch (Methods and Game’s Table), and the central instillation MMMS Reticulum Gewässerzeiten. As I entered the gallery I was drawn directly to this main instillation, which is partly hidden by the layout of the gallery, however I could see the beginnings of it: a large net making a curved line into the room, inviting the visitor in.

The Reticulum is perhaps, at first, slightly underwhelming. The sense of debris which the piece will gradually bring to life could to begin with appear like a cluster of gradually forming art clichés. There are: hanging ceramics hand-made on site using an obscure firing technique, a pile of mud dredged from the River Avon which runs next to the gallery (and whose silt and mud is becoming of interest to artists working locally), and a structure which brings to mind a kind of haphazard Mongolian yurt. I can sometimes feel the tiresome expressions of the cynic creeping up on me when looking at instillation art, but in this case, as I moved through the piece towards the yurt-like tent, the work’s magic started to descend on me, as if it came down through the swooping net like structure which, once you turn around, ascends away, up into the reaches of the gallery’s high ceiling.

These opposing, and notional, motions of descending and ascending feel integral to the power of Pulfer’s instillation. As one enters the room the canopy of the net draws the visitor (this label appears to work well in relation to the piece) down towards the tent; towards but not directly to. Before one can reach the yurt the canopy breaks off and there, amidst the hanging lines, one sees a handmade trap (or is it an instrument?), the hanging ceramics, the mud, and the decorative ribbons which adorn the net. Once at the tent and turning around to face the way you have come, as if to leave one’s home, the net works in reverse and draws the eye outwards – past the artefacts, which now appear much more to be artefacts of habitation (both decorative and functional, even if their function is hard to pinpoint) – into the outside world. Reminiscent of that very cinematic motion of coming into the open (that grand establishing shot – foremost in my memory in this instance is the perennially unpopular film Waterworld – or, more recently, transposed to videogames, a particularly iconic moment in Fallout 3 – both post-apocalyptic adventures), this is then drawn down by the break in the net, towards the objects of one’s home. We might imagine ourselves checking the trap, perhaps doing some drawing, admiring our ribbons, before heading out into the world outside.

And what of that world outside? Pulfer’s instillation, as I began by saying, is, to me, all about imagination. He devotes a section of his website to talking about his interest in mnemonics, which he describes as a way of remembering through imagining a fictional, mental space. He writes: “For some instillations I consciously create mnemonics that are to be shared with the audience. However, such mnemonics are not written in any given language, they exist foremost in the mind.” He goes on to give examples of three mental images he’s used in creating his works, each of which seems primarily to describe a somewhat psychedelic experiences which, importantly, are tethered to an imagined setting: a room or enclosed space. We have a “cave in a tropical forest” with the “Milky Way spanning across the ceiling”, “a room full of mirrors with low ceilings”, and a system of locations nested in a shopping mall which expands into many outside locations. While all of these settings appear to be quite closed (by which I mean they don’t particularly suggest a world outside themselves), they require imaginative work on the part of the reader to envision. In the case of the MMMS Reticulum Gewässerzeiten Pulfer not only creates a closed imagined place – that of this haphazard home in the art gallery – but also one which motions towards an imagined outside place. In the swooping ascent of the net, to the details found when following the line of the net downwards; in the daily activities which these details suggest, Pulfer’s composition expands into a world outside of itself – into the viewers own imagination.

Coming out of the instillation and turning to the right, along the corridor leading to the second room, there are a series of Maps watercolours which Pulfer has painted from memory. They expand on the idea of building a space from memory – and, as the literature notes, they certainly to resemble treasure maps; which contributes, to some degree, to the possible nautical pre-/post-culture established in Gewässerzeiten. This treasure-map-quality is almost wholly indebted to the works’ rough and washed out look. This, however, is something of a double edged sword. Though the ‘Maps series’ thematically works with the central instillation - memory and imagination are central again here (also, to my mind at least, developing the imagined “narrative” of the instillation) – I feel, that their composition isn’t quite at the same level. Large areas of the paper are soaked in watercolour paint while the buildings and spaces which do exist can tell us very little about their significance. It’s hard to know what can be achieved through this process but, unfortunately, I felt Pulfer’s attempt could only display the muddiness or incapacity of recollection. Perhaps this is a notion Pulfer was interested in. However, I did not get the same (pardon the term)‘magic’ which, in the instillation, was derived from the overall care apparent in the piece’s composition.

In terms of curation the ‘Maps series’ works perfectly well as a way to lead the visitor into the second room which contains two further works. This room is excellently put together and  - much like the ‘Maps series’, but, in my opinion, to a greater degree – continues the imaginative ‘world building’ this whole exhibition seems to be driving at. We find here an assemblage of objects and processes. Reminiscent this time of a museum exhibition the piece Methoden und Spieletisch pulls together a menagerie of works by Pulfer, ranging in subject from a drawing of music, strange sketches, and toy weapons. And just like the other pieces in the exhibition this assemblage of works seems to draw on both imagination and memory – making objects which, remembered or imagined, seem to interpret other objects, works, or ideas in the world.

This exhibition comes together, to my mind at least, as both a work of environmental storytelling (again, we may be referencing contemporary videogames here) and one which expresses Pulfer’s driving interest in mnemonics. It is a collection of works which inspire imaginative thinking and memory (of childhood, old movies, places). Though there are certainly parts of it which I feel require further development, it remains a marvellously engrossing experience to visit.