Mackenzie’s impression of Callum Morton's Valhalla.

Mackenzie’s impression of
Callum Morton’s Valhalla.

“ Smouldering remains of a building that Morton has so morbidly brought back from the dead in this city of phantoms.”

Andrew Mackenzie says Callum Morton’s piece for the 2007 Venice Biennale, Valhalla has various meanings. His impression of the project is a narrative of a broken home. He believes Morton has tried to construct the concerns of society’s private and public life that surrounds and maybe destroys a home. Morton has allowed the audience to engage spatially with the large-scale installation. By placing the house away from the main exhibitions and on its own separate site that fits with in a public domain has made it more intriguing. He also establishes that some of the elements of the house are recreations of Morton’s past.

Mackenzie’s say with this piece the artist has extended and evolved from his earlier works. Clearly this Valhalla is not a heavenly hall. It is a monument to a home broken by time and the proclivities of real estate. It is a monument to the ravaging force of economy over ideology. And this work is one that asks questions and is not so smug as to pretend it has the answers.

This review was a very enjoyable and easy read. I will also find it helpful when writing my own art review.