Dirk Bell @ The Modern Institute

What starts with a bitten apple, is followed by a star, proclamations of freedom, love and freelove? Apparently, not just the Bible but also Dirk Bell's new show at The Institute of Modern Art in Glasgow.

Though the narrative underpinning the show is clearly biblical you are not force-fed with doctrine. The set-up is very subtle so it takes a while to connect the pieces: a painting of a bitten apple, a cage like structure with a decaying apple and an eight pointed star. However, the show does not only draw on Christianity.

The highlight of the exhibition is Merkaba. The eight pointed star, which has its roots in Jewish mysticism, in Bell’s vision is an interaction piece executed out of neon tubes and attached to a laptop. The piece invites the viewer to control the density of the light by playing a computer game. In the game you have to collect love and freedom – the more you collect the brighter the star glows. The piece leaves you with a slight dilemma: is it trying to teach you that all you need is love and freedom to reach enlightenment? Or that you are a product of consumerism that wants overindulged?

The pieces draw from religion, spirituality and mystic traditions. The show proclaims Freedom and Love. The message proclaimed seems happy but the way it is done is “happy gone depressing”. The paintings are similar to William Blake in their use of a dark palette. The message FreeLove itself is sculpted to create a cage like figure. Perhaps there is no making sense of the show or the pieces. Not yet, anyway.