My next mission was a little different from previous tasks, to say the least. With an open mind, I was prepared for anything, when given the opportunity to go to an art exhibition. The Metropole Gallery in Folkestone is hosting the L'ART DECORATIF D'AUJOURD'HUI art exhibition. As we arrived in a small housing estate it took about half a hour to find the gallery by foot even though it was within one hundred yards from where I was standing. Eventually I realized, the building we had been staring at all this time was the gallery.
 | | God Exists by Edward Dorrian |
Before entering the oddly placed gallery, I didn't know what to expect. As I walked up a large flight of stairs I began to see some of the pieces through the glass in a large wooden door. A painting was hanging in mid air which seemed normal enough. It wasn't until I had fully entered the building, I realised what type of art I was there to see. The brief summary on the internet was vague in describing the exhibition that 'explores the often fraught relationship between ornamentation and contemporary art practice'. Make of that what you will. As I stood staring at my surroundings, I noticed a television connected to a VCR player nailed to the floor. On the television screen a woman from the Israeli Army is 'imitating an animal of her choice.' It turned out that the mysterious solider decided to dress up as an Orange Billed Parrot Finch.听 On the other side of the room there was a projector on a plinth. This was designed to project images of someone dealing cards. The film was cropped to only show the card players hands and the cards he is dealing. Artist Susan Morris's intention for the piece apparently was to show the 'game of patience.'
 | | The Metropole Gallery |
As I looked around at the obvious visual aspect of the art I was slow to realise there was an audio aspect too. A CD player on repeat had two voices in a disagreement. The piece entitled 'Oh Ye Gods' by Micheal Curran was created to 'explore themes of love and language.' The white walled and spacious room was filled with an eerie atmosphere due to odd piano music coming from another speaker not too far away from the previous 'Oh Ye Gods' piece. Random notes on a piano were echoing out of the speaker that sat next to a television screen, a book and head phones. Whilst placing the headphones on, the same eerie piano notes could be heard and a book with photocopied notes filled the glossy book beside me. The television featured a time counting down in the format of a stop watch. After spending some time in the gallery it was clear that I was having some difficulty in trying to decipher the meaning behind most of the artists' work. Even though I found it hard to try and relate to art it was fascinating to see. A lot of criticism has been thrown at modern art but its hard to knock the intrigue that comes with it. | 
