Misguided in Plymouth

Francis Alys- Paradox of Praxis (still)

Going to Plymouth still feels like an adventure: I always get lost. No map can prepare you for the tangle of impassable road junctions, underpasses, footbridges and pedestrian precincts that make up the city centre. The council recently installed long-overdue pedestrian signage, only to have to have it all turned around to confuse unwary visitors. And half of the street signs seem to be missing.

I was there to catch up with Project Space 11 and their latest venture Peepshow, a video installation that you have to view through a tiny, high-level peephole in a metal shutter in the middle of a busy market.

I have to say it was a suitably excruciating experience for me. On top of the deliberate embarassment engendered by the set up, I was about four inches too short to see in. So I was wobbling around on tiptoe, precariously balanced on a small set of steps. To make matters worse, I couldn't quite get the images in focus, whether my glasses were on or off. I saw a little bit of Melanie Jackson's piece, a series of frames that looked like a plastic model of Mao, a section of road movie and a selection of birds (pigeons, parrots). At least I think that's what I saw.

I also visited possibly the noisiest university library ever. And dropped into Plymouth Arts Centre for a screening of two short documentary films about Francis Alys: When Faith Moves Mountains and Paradox of Praxis.