"Monsters of the Id" Exhibition by David Cotterrell

I went to the John Hansard Gallery to see the work "Monsters of the Id" by David Cotterrell. The exhibition is a mixture of video, audio, interactive media and artificial intelligence a hybrid of modern technology. The work was specifically designed to display in the Hansard Gallery and the technology had never been used for display in a gallery before. The layout of the gallery was changed for the exhibition, even adding new rooms and walls. The exhibition captured the disorientation of a civilian observer within a militarised environment.

As you entered the exhibition you was presented "Observer Effect" a large visually curved barren landscapes, as you stood within the space, slowly dark unnerving figure would appear and walk towards you. The amount of figures that appeared depended on the number of people in the room, however while i was their only four figures appeared during my two hour stay but the work was still only in testing at this point.

Upon entering the second room you find the work "Searchlight 2". The information taken by the sensors in the previous room is translated onto a long desert landscape of "Searchlight 2". You see yourself projected onto this work as a small fleeing figure moving across this landspace. The work symbolises the way in with aerial drones pick up movement within war zones. The piece is made out of piled white chalk which cracks and shifts similar to that of desert sands, i found this fascinating as of the sheer amount of time it must have taken to complete. The work is quite chilling as it makes you feel so watched and small within a landscape.

"Apparent Horizon" is the third piece of work shown in the exhibition, it is displayed in to small rooms parallel to each other, you stand within the doorways and before you is shown two domed landscapes. Apparent Horizon shows our role hovers between sublime reverie and the quiet anxiety between of periods of violence. Final in a smaller back room has a set up room that shows the inside of a military field base. The piece places you in the centre of what would be the surveillance base in the war zone. The room contained authentic military equipment and allowed you to walk about it freely.