Smoke, Mirrors and Talking Mice

the work of British conceptual artist Ryan Gander

“The End,” 2020

I was first introduced to British conceptual artist Ryan Gander‘s work at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, and like most who stumble upon the stammering animatronic mouse poking its head out from a hole in the wall by the elevator, I was charmed. I looked more into Gander’s work and was less so—see links* below for the intrepid who have tried to encapsulate his viewpoint/work.

During my online exploration I found two other animatronic mice, one for which I found a link and the other just a quote. Given that Gander’s work, “involves a questioning of language and knowledge,” (gbagency.fr) I was curious about others’ reaction to these conceptual expressions.  

Animatronic Mouse #1: “The Prophet,” 2018.
Transcript, voiced by the artist’s 8-year-old daughter, Olive May Gander:
“You can be anything you want if you put your mind to it! But your achievements mean nothing if they are not of your own making.”
—Charlie Chaplin’s, The Great Dictator, 1940.

“The Prophet,” 2018

Animatronic Mouse #2: “I…I…I” 2019, Bourse de Commerce, Paris
Partial transcript voiced by his 9-year-old daughter Olive:
“Well, the thing is I, um…I…I…I um (sigh) Ah, oh, I um, hm. (pause) It’s no good.”

Animatronic Mouse #3: “The End,” 2020
Transcript, voiced by his 10-year-old daughter, Olive:
“There are two great differences between a human and an animal aside from a few physical and the (even after 5 listens can’t understand*) things. Although I’ve never found physical things or visual things to be of particularly importance. I am thinking cognitively here, not rationally. The first is the human’s ability to tell stories, to pass on information, histories and to assemble knowledge. To not only know that experiences of one but to know or at the very least to be able to access the knowledge of the whole of the human kind. This is called language.”

I saw Mouse #2 (“I…I…I”) first and, as I said above, I found it captivating/endearing as did most everyone who came across it at the same time I did. The use of the child’s voice to express the inability to fully express oneself was fitting/intriguing. The size of the artwork and the fact one stumbles upon it, the element of surprise, played a role as well complementing the aspect of helplessness and confusion.

That little mouse stayed with me. When I went online to learn more I came across the other, suddenly erudite mice, still animated, still voiced by his young daughter. While I enjoy the sound of his daughter’s voice as well as the timing of her delivery I found the use of a child’s voice in the other two mouse artworks (#1 and #3) to express the artist’s “deep” thoughts on humanity jarring, treacly, didactic and somewhat arrogant similar to his comment regarding why he creates: “…I make it for history. Not for someone, but for a time or space, which is the contribution to the history of art. That’s the thing I get off on.” (ItsNiceThat.com) 

Gander collaborates with his daughter, Olive a great deal in his art. From a cast in marble resin of a shelter she created using umbrellas and a bed sheet to a Moleskine notebook on display which she tore, folded, cut and punched holes he revels in her imagination and precocity. Is this a case of an artistic child prodigy? Access by proximity? A combination thereof? None of the above?

I’ve spent hours trying to better understand Gander’s work and, for the most part, remain unmoved and unimpressed. I am, however, interested in others’ experience of the various animatronic videos, conceptual art in general, Gander in particular and any other comments this brief exploration inspires.

*A brief selection of quotes (trying to) summarize Gander’s work:
Artsy.net: Conceptual artist Ryan Gander’s eclectic output defies categorization, encompassing installations, sculptures, photos, texts, and reproductions that present wittily inconclusive narratives about art, culture, and the artist’s personal experiences.

ItsNiceThat.com: If at its heart is the idea of stories, collaboration and connections, then intertwined in that narrative are equally grand thematic concerns: contribution to art history, immortality and of course its natural counterpart, death…Ryan says his work “has something to do with death—it’s to do with legacy, so I make it for history. Not for someone, but for a time or space, which is the contribution to the history of art.

LissonGallery.com: Gander’s work involves a questioning of language and knowledge, as well as a reinvention of both the modes of appearance and the creation of an artwork…It is ultimately a huge set of hidden clues to be deciphered, encouraging viewers to make their own associations and invent their own narrative in order to unravel the complexities staged by the artist.

TheContemporaryAustin.org: A stalwart conceptualist who is both ephemeral and concrete.