Brisbane's Institute of Modern Art presents Swiss duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss' 1987 film, The Way Things Go — the show-stealer at documenta 8 — on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. This feat of chemically enhanced engineering features bubbling liquids, pyrotechnic tires, exploding watering cans, spinning rubbish bags, bursting balloons, and overflowing trays of unidentifiable substances, all of which are arranged in a 30-minute-long chain reaction and captured in one continuous take. At times, the ripple of effects becomes painfully slow and appears to halt, but physical laws inevitably regain momentum, and the domino effect continues. Combining the moving image, kinetic sculpture, and the readymade in a single work, Fischli/Weiss charge a hobbyist's tinkering with metaphorical poignancy.

-EB

The Way Things Go is available on DVD through Microcinema International.