The Valuer review | Barking Spider Creative | Melbourne Fringe Festival | GaleryGallery INC

How much is that weird little object you’ve been holding onto for years actually worth? The Valuer invites audiences to find out, bringing their knick-knacks to a Suprahuman Valuer for assessment. Created by Penelope Bartlau and Jason Lehane (of Barking Spider Creative), the immersive work plays with our ideas of value, ownership and attachment, asking whether we really want to keep the things we treasure once someone else puts a price on them.

In some ways, this is a sequel to Barking Spider Creative’s The Collector, which I attended last year. Both works explore the stories and worth we attach to everyday objects, but this time the experience is personalised. Rather than engaging with a room of curiosities with another participant, we have our own consultation with the assessor, creating something smaller in scope but no less playful or absorbing.

The visit begins with a brief chat with The Valuer’s familial, who fortunately manages to condense reams of paperwork and terms and conditions into a short interaction. We’re given an explanation of what to expect, without giving anything away. Once the formalities are done, we open the door and take a step inside.

The moment it closes behind me, I feel like I’ve entered another world. The space might be square, but Bartlau and Lehane have transformed it into a winding path, with black curtains forming corridors to lead us deeper inside. Along the sides are various items - mounted animal heads, globes, eggs, lamps, and even dentures - each marked with a tag, presumably relics from previous valuations, giving the impression of a long history shared between the Vauer and the things that have passed through their hands. 

Tree branches protruding above the curtains, while dark red lighting casts shadows across the ceiling. A quietness and solitude begin to take hold as I make my way to the end of the path, where I meet the Valuer. By then, the hustle and bustle of the outside world has fallen away. All that can be heard is ticking clocks and other mechanisms, giving me time to settle into the encounter.

Bartlau is wonderful as The Valuer. Dressed entirely in black and wearing a raven head designed by Cinda Manins, her face is completely obscured, leaving no eyes or facial expressions to convey a response. The valuation itself is non-verbal, yet Bartlau imbues the character with such a distinct personality through her movements and gestures that it feels like we’re having a genuine conversation.

The Valuer has an air of authority, but there’s nothing intimidating about their presence. Instead, there’s an almost reverential quality to this strange creature, keeping an element of surprise. We are carefully guided throughout the entire process, ensuring we’re never left wondering what we’re supposed to do.

My knick-knack is not particularly valuable, either financially or sentimentally, yet when I’m given the opportunity to part with it, I decide to keep it. It makes me consider what makes something worth holding onto. We tend to think of value in terms of price or emotional attachment, but sometimes an object simply has a place in our lives without either. Each visitor to The Valuer will bring their own associations to their item and respond differently to the experience. The assessment may determine its worth, but ultimately, the decision about its value still belongs to us.

SHOW DETAILS 

Venue: GalleryGallery INC, Level 1, 7A Hope St, Brunswick
Season: until 3 October | Thur & Sat, various times
Duration: 20 minutes
Tickets: $20 Full | $15 Concession
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image credit: Josh Wilson