Dane Mitchell
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Mystic Truths Auckland Art Gallery, 2007. Dane Mitchell pulls together devices to measure and account for the hard facts of the exhibition structure-the walls, the floor, the architecture, the storage facilities. He demarcates and amplifies them for the audience using thermometers, microphones, lights and... a good witch. In order to move beyond the physical structure and test the spiritual resonance of the space, Mitchell moves to the services of a guide, someone professionally capable of opening up a portal to the other side. It is difficult to adjust to the tone of his exploration because we assume his tests will fall short of results, so it appears as a cynical endgame. We assume his entry point is a rational overview of the irrational, yet the artist hasn't prefaced his work with a smile. The experience of the work is more foreboding and it is there that we test our assumptions.