MARCO POLO | Daniel Breda
"A shout – Marco – is a chlorine-scented call in the dark (or almost dark) as with eyes squeezed shut (no peeping, but inevitably you do), senses heightened, you await the whispered wash of the return - Polo. As an exhibition title, it conjures the precarious rules of the childhood game; a chase for slippery bodies, governed by clues, guesses, luck and chance. It’s a game ruled by sightlessness so that all the other senses come to the fore. All that unsighted sensorial fervour, played within the limited confines of a swimming pool. In terms of looking at art, it is a calculated ask by artist Daniel Breda whose work and presentations have always asked much more of visitors than mere sight or just looking. Wielding a combination of traditional painting, installation, and virtual reality [VR] technology, imbued with a wry sense of humour and a touch of irreverence, this exhibition is an invitation to dive in and play with an expansion of what painting is, and the ways and spaces in which we can actively engage with it."
Lisa Pang, February 2022
Read entire essay here.