Christian Boltanski (1944-present), “Chance ” (detail), 2014, Carriageworks, Sydney. Image courtesy Ester Sarkadi-Clarke
Christian Boltanski’s Chance raises existential questions, including why and how we are here, and are birth and death all just part of a chance? The sound and sight of the conveyor belt of black and white photographs of babies, in Wheel of Fortune, 2011, encapsulates life bound by endless mechanisms. Flashing digital numbers remind us of the stark reality of our lives as statistics: green numbers to record births, red numbers for deaths. The work is reminiscent of a construction site or factory, where humans are bound by their obligations and the cycle of birth and death, identity, memory and transience. All parts revolve around the question of chance. Chance was exhibited at Carriageworks, Sydney from 9 January to 23 March 2014. – Ester Sarkadi-Clarke.
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