The Bearable Lightness of Being
Maya Pindyck
for ice-cream. Whining for balloons. She has big eyes and even bigger wants.
And she is not going away without your undivided attention. You can’t walk away
from her because she’s standing right inside of you.
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style=’font-family:Verdana’>Walking into Emily Orling’s solo exhibition,
“Infinite Possibility,” at 473 Broadway Gallery, I am confronted by tender
paintings and pink balloons scattered on the floor. Also on the floor are
colorful, dated objects lined up against the wall. Is this a five year old’s
birthday party thrown by cheeky parents with a penchant for antique toys, or an
art exhibition? In the case of Emily Orling, perhaps a more proper question to
ask is: does it even make a difference?
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style=’font-family:Verdana’>What does seem to make a difference, is what the exhibition boasts is possible.
Which seems to be… everything. There is no gravity in this space, no
distinction between fun and importance, no unbearable burden and nothing more
central than the ME in each of us. It is an easy room to enter. Orling attempts
to provoke a greater honesty through an acknowledgment of her own
vulnerabilities. Her honesty takes form in vibrant paintings, piles of animal
drawings, an orange enema bag hanging from the wall and all those bouncing pink
balloons.
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style=’font-family:Verdana’>The best painting in the exhibition knows it’s the
best. A life-size boy in a blue bathing cap, standing on his hands while
balancing two pigs on his feet, is beautifully conveyed. An innocent pride
makes itself present, along with an eagerness to boast his skill to the viewer.
At the same time, a stance is taken with a silly burden. We are witness to his
ability and begin to understand a new possibility, free from sensibility.
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style=’font-family:Verdana’>Next to the boy is a large painting of a figure
climbing a ladder leading to nothing visible. The figure stands hovering at the
top of the ladder, about to enter an unknown. Uncertainty exists within the
white space, and a clean moment of hesitation has been captured. Another
painting of equal size shows a monk leaning over, as a pink balloon floats
above him. The shoeless monk is wearing white socks, and seems to be floating
himself. The quiet message of this painting surpasses its quality, which
appears almost illustrative.
Orling
identifies with the lightness of her work, and recognizes it as an ultimate
principle—a way of living. Her clear examination of her own inner world gives
room for us to identify with the humorous humanness of it all. “This show is
about balloons,” says Orling. A
moment later she adds, “I don’t want to only be balloons.”
style=’font-family:Verdana’> This double statement is both the frosting and the
cake. Our desires and our qualities amount to the same “Me:” a weightless,
infinite possibility.
