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Dwelling poetically: Mexico City, a case study, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), 111 Sturt St, Southbank, until June 24
David Gatiss, Marina Mason and Lesley Dickman, Tacit Art, 123a Gipps St, Collingwood, until June 3
Celeste Chandler, Ladies’ night, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, 155 Langridge St, Collingwood, until June 10
Mexico City
Only vertical cities like Manhattan or towns with a gorgeous topography like Sydney are flattered by a view from the air. The capital of Mexico is not such a place.
At ACCA, the large hall is dominated by a moving aerial panorama of suburban Mexico City. Straight street after straight street on flat land, with blocky buildings of two storeys and little colour: it looks dire.
The video by Melanie Smith flies us over the south-eastern suburb of Iztapulapa, which is a lot less interesting than the city centre, in the same way that Murrumbeena is less impressive than central Melbourne. It seems a strange way to investigate the vibrancy of one of the most populous places in the world.
A frame from Francis Alys' video Paradox of praxis 1: Sometimes making something leads to nothing.
Photo: Andrew CurtisOther works, however, do give us a glimpse of the city in its marvellous combination of density and relaxation. The performative video by Francis Alys of a man pushing a large ice cube through the streets – it progressively loses its mass through heat and friction – reveals a city both built-up and intimate.