Fitting in Places
Georgia Tooke - 28th July 2022
The sun was beaming down on me as I rode my bike as quickly as I could to see this show before I had to head to work. I arrived pink in the face and sweaty. It happened to be the same day as a building-wide open house where the public could come check out Victoria’s largest arts hub including 70 artists and 4 gallery spaces. I only had an hour before I had to jet up to work (even after telling my manager: no I can’t come in early, I’m going to an art show), so I skipped the three floors of open studios and galleries and went straight to Michael Makaroff’s solo show “Fitting in Places” at The Vault.
The Vault is a new small gallery space that Laveen Gammie just opened in April. It is true to its name as it was literally a vault in whatever this building was before it became an art hub. It is a windowless concrete room with a thick metal vault door. Before entering the vault, there’s a small room before it that acts a bit more like a hallway. There in the hallway room was the first body of work by Makaroff, a photo series titled “Who uses these things anyway?”, then inside the vault was the video piece with the same name as the show: “Fitting in Places”.
The photos were taken mostly of hotel or apartment entrance ways and waiting rooms. Each had an 80s textured grainy feel to them, moody darkened lighting; some with predominantly orange or green hues. One of my favourite parts about the photos was actually something that was potentially unintentional… The audio from the video was so loud that it leaked into the hallway where the photos were hung, which didn’t distract but rather completely enhanced my viewing experience with the photos. The audio reminded me of (and I’m hesitant to say this because it’s so trendy right now but,) the Stranger Things score. In the sense that it had this heavy hypnotic sinyth; which is probably another reason why I felt like the photos had an 80s feel to them (even though I’ve definitely seen some of those locations in the photographs biking around present-day Victoria).
Everything in this show that Makaroff did could easily be described as cinematic - each shot was clearly considered, lit and framed in a satisfying and intriguing way. It came as no surprise to me then to see in his statement that his background is in film and music video making. His work has a level of polish that is really exciting to see in a young artist. The reason I bring up the cinematography in relation to his still photographs is because the addition of audio gave the still photos a sense of movement. This lent to the concept and content of this series because each shot was of a transient liminal space designed for people to move through; never a point A or B but always within the line that connects them. It got me wondering about liminal spaces - why are we so drawn to them? I remember first seeing this phenomenon on Tumblr and Reddit years ago of abandoned malls, empty airports, quiet gas stations in the middle of the night, dimly lit hotel or subway hallways. There was something eerie and fascinating about them, something that repelled and drew you in at the same time. Since it got me thinking, I came home from the show and started reading articles on liminal spaces. Some articles spoke to the sense of hope we get, as these spaces are often merely a means to get somewhere (airports). Some talked about a quiet sense of doom and entrapment of our claustrophobic capitalist structures which promised freedom but delivered the opposite.
I’m going to link some reading about liminal spaces below if you’re interested in reading more or looking at photos of liminal spaces.
Upon entering the vault, you were now enveloped in the audio that led you through the photos. There, projected onto the back wall was the video piece entitled: “Fitting In Places”. The first clip was shot from across a street, cars driving by and stopping at a traffic light. I then saw a man wearing white pants and a green shirt walking past a library sign, to sit down for a few moments before standing and walking off screen. It wasn’t until I saw a few more segments from the video that I clued in what was happening. When the man in white pants and a green shirt sat down, he perfectly blended into his surroundings. The next clip was a woman in a red skirt and white blouse walking down the breakwater before stopping to be perfectly in line with the red and white lighthouse in the distance. Several more clips followed of people lining up perfectly with their environments, blending in with their surroundings, being at the right place at the right time. Each shot was mouthwatering and mesmerizing, paired gorgeously with the hypnotic endless ebbs and flows of the audio. If I didn’t have to save my coworkers from a busy lunch rush, I could have sat there for hours.
Needless to say, I’m now a big fan of Michael Makaroff and not that I have any authority on anything to say this but I think he’s definitely an artist to watch. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
