William Kentridge in National Gallery, Ottawa

Sometimes art leaves a lasting impression. You store it somewhere deep in your brain to revisit later. An active search in the file of countless images you have collected in your life may lead you there. But more likely, the memory someday pops up when you least expect it, triggered by an experience that seems unrelated to the initial impression. The William Kentridge installation in the National Gallery in Ottawa, named ‘More Sweetly Play the Dance,’ will likely become such a memory for me. Try to visit if you are near; this is something special.

This alexnote is an impression of a related work of art by William Kentridge. It is also in the National Gallery, in the adjacent room. I chose this one because I don’t want to spoil the surprise of your first impression when you walk into his moving parade, full of dance and music. Chris Hampton described it as an immersive, 21st-century ‘danse macabre.’