'There are so many clues and feelings in the world that it makes a mystery . . . and there are many avenues in life where we’re given little indications that the mystery can one day be solved. We get little proofs — not the big proof — but little proofs that keep us searching'. David Lynch

8 April 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s television series Twin Peaks 1990–91. This ground-breaking vision of small town America revelled in a beauty and horror that lay beneath the surface of the everyday. It was part melodrama and murder mystery, and its success and longevity is a salient marker of our collective fascination with mysteries. As Lynch puts it, “Human beings are like detectives. We sense a mystery and we want to know what’s going on.”

It is happening again!

‘Between Two Worlds’ also includes a gallery-based presentation of the Log Lady Introductions, written and directed by Lynch to accompany syndication of the series in 1993. One of the show’s more enigmatic figures, the Log Lady communicated with a place ‘beyond the fire’ through her log and is presented in the Gallery in a setting reminiscent of the interior of The Black Lodge, a location in Twin Peaks described as a ‘place between two worlds’, where characters meet their shadow-selves.

In the penultimate episode Laura Palmer tells Agent Cooper who is trapped in The Black Lodge, ‘I’ll see you again in 25 Years’ – a promise that has swelled with fans since the announcement that Lynch, Frost and the Showtime network would revisit the town with a 9-episode third series to be directed by Lynch. A new novel by Frost called ‘The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks’ (2015) was also announced with the promise that it would reveal what happened to the show’s characters in the intervening years.

But like the song goes: who knows where or when?

During Lynch’s visit to Brisbane for the opening of ‘Between Two Worlds’ he intimated that while he was still very much in love with the world of Twin Peaks, negotiations with the network were proving difficult and contracts were yet to be signed. Lynch’s reservation and clear frustration with the process drew speculation internationally that the new series might never eventuate. Those fears were fuelled by Lynch’s recent announcement that he was leaving the production, lamenting that he wished things could have worked out differently.

Fans and actors have since begun the campaign to save the production with Lynch and Frost at the helm. The message is simple: No Lynch, No Peaks. In Sheryl Lee’s video message she described the endgame as “Twin Peaks without David Lynch is like a girl without a secret”. It’s a reminder of the commitment of fans worldwide who previously campaigned for 20 years for the release of deleted scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me that surfaced with the 2014 release of The Missing Pieces.

‘David Lynch: Between Two Worlds’
Exclusive to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
14 March – 7 June 2015.