Concrete Playground

I learnt this week that the Queen Victoria Building has a time capsule. It was installed after the restoration of the building in the mid-1980s and won't be opened for 100 years. Time capsules are an interesting way of giving priority to certain objects and they also enable us to convey what we believe are our strongest values and attributes. If those in a century were to develop an understanding of the aesthetic of our time I would like them to do this with the help of Rene Vaile's photography.

Objects in a time capsule exist in a unique temporality. Initially, they exist in the moment before being locked away. Then they remain in stasis; in a sense, they don't belong to a moment in time. Only in the future will they be used again, and the different use values attached to them will recast them as new objects, almost with a new temporal history. Rene's photos seem suitable for such a destiny because they are in a sense already petrified. The absence of any contextual detail lends these images a timelessness of their own. Only when grouped together do patterns emerge; we sense Vaile piecing something together. But what is it?

Pink socks (Uniqlo?), crystals; such items are shot by Vaile without a self-reflexive gaze. One is not aware of the constructed nature of these images. Instead, they appear as a new set of symbols, a new language, with which Rene sets about communicating all that he sees around him. It's a world that seems oddly familiar. Death metal album covers, street brawls, constellations of stars — Vaile's taste for content is inspired. The installation of floor-to-ceiling images spoils the viewer with a snapshot of what Vaile is digging right now. The collaged format has long been a vital element of the workspace of many creative folk — here the photographer has transformed this into a conceptual work. None of the works were produced with this show in mind, but their accumulation has created a work in itself.

Rene Vaile's exhibition Just Treasure is showing at the Edition store during opening hours until October 7. There is a limited edition print on sale also.