Project Description

ZOLA JESUS

@ The Gallery of Modern Art

(Live Review)

22/06/18

Review by: Alexandra Ainsworth

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The Gallery of Modern Art’s latest Patricia Piccinini exhibition has been turning heads across Brisbane over the past few weeks. Hyper-realistic sculptures of human-animal hybrids man most every corner of the gallery—some decidedly childlike in innocence, while others posing a more thought-provoking existence. The intensity of the exhibition was encapsulated by guest artist Zola Jesus (Nika Roza Danilova), performing as a part of the gallery’s Up Late series. Draped with a waist-length red veil, Danilova slowly wanders through the thick crowd gathered around the corner stage as the lights dim for her set. Synths looming in the background, Danilova makes her way to the stage, a red-lit platform where her two bandmates await. It’s an undoubtedly dark affair, but as soon as Danilova throws herself into the vocals of opening song Veka, it’s hard to focus on anything else.

The setlist is a healthy mix of Zola Jesus’ more popular tracks such as Skin, Night, and Soak, with tracks from older records, such as 2009’s The Spoils, dotted in between. There are a handful of fans in the crowd singing along to the more well-known songs, but most of the crowd are content to just watch the set unfold before them, whether or not they are familiar with the catalog.

The set’s only downfall is it’s lack of visuals. Clearly limited by the venue, Danilova’s goth-pop stylings beg for an accentuation only drastic strobes and smoke machines could deliver. But as the set wears on, it becomes clear that Danilova’s singing is clearly the star of the show. While her eccentric dancing makes for a close second, it’s the deep and full-bodied vocals that captures the attention of not only those in the audience, but those in the furthest corners of the gallery.

It’s performance art that isn’t alienating or pretentious. Its raw intensity emanates the woefully human tales told within Danilova’s lyrics, stories she recalls with such passion it feels like her struggles are your own. While it errs on the side of avant-garde, never once does there feel like a disconnect between artist and audience. Zola Jesus, much like Patricia Piccinini, has created her own world free from traditional expectations and free for all to find solace within.

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