Hawkwind fans should take note of an exhibition currently up at Fake Estate, a former utility closet and now a cozy arts space on the fifth floor of the 526 W. 26th Street building in Chelsea. Art collaborative Yemenwed have transformed Fake Estate into a site-specific viewing room, replete with a red oblong sculpture as a centerpiece, for their video Episode 3. Legendary space rock group Hawkwind come to mind primarily because of their use of themes, including that of the Eternal Champion and the multiverse, derived from science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, who worked closely with the band. Similar to Moorcock's perennial figure of the Eternal Champion, who navigates across dimensions of the multiverse and whose identity is at times manifold, Episode 3's main protagonist, Sigrid H. travels through several zones housed within a Metronome-shaped structure, and the characters or objects she encounters in these spaces are an extension of her own identity. It seems fitting that an art group with as many members as Yemenwed (the press release credits 19 separate collaborators) should examine multiple identities. Episode 3 can be viewed online but should really be experienced within Fake Estate's gallery, if only to take in the video's elaborate scenery and the sound design, which are the strongest elements of the work.
Image: Yemenwed, Episode 3 (Stills), 2008