The exhibition starts with some explanatory text about the historical role of still life: speaking about class and status of the owner and providing evidence of a life lived virtuously in a time when material rewards were taken to foreshadow spiritual ones. However I couldn't help being a bit perplexed by the selection of traditional still lifes on display. Why this painting of a vase and cheese? There were some contemporary examples of the still life genre (photographic rather than painting) which seemed at pains to justify themselves. Personally I have nothing against a picture of some citrus fruits but I don't see it as rising to the level of demanding exhibition space.
Fortunately there was some variety and my eye was brought to Plasmorphica by Aziz and Cucher. Plasmorphica is part of a series of works and depicts a semi-abstract object that is a sort of combination of artificial skin and computer plug-ins. Flesh tone plastic is pulled tight over forms which provides an interesting aesthetic. A polished metal interconnect attaches a tube of flesh-toned fabric to the larger plastic form. Described as part prosthetic and part sex toy, I found Plasmorphica to offer an alternative visual vocabulary to the more conventional cyborg shorthand. There's a late 80's/early 90's consumer product vibe to the "device" which has interesting implications - the human body as appliance, a domestication following a mechanisation.
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Also on display were three works by Jim Skull. The artist makes models of human skulls using papier mâché and then covers them in a single repeating material. The material is allowed to break apart and dangle near the mouth and reach down to the floor, creating the impression of some kind of humanoid jellyfish. Skulls, like faces, tend to be fascinating forms, although with the skull there is a certain detachment which is partly countered by an additional engagement with the geometry. The concept allows for large variety, since different effects are achieved simply by changing up the material. These sculptures found their way into the still life exhibition by way of their depiction of skulls, itself a recurring theme in traditional still life painting and intended to remind the viewer of death, the fleeting nature of time, and their own mortality. There's not a whole lot of depth to the works, but they are interesting to look at, and their tactility provided a welcome contrast to the more pictorial elements in the room.
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Among the other works was Bouquet by Jennifer Steinkamp, a projected display of a computer-made collage of leaves, stems and flowers gently swaying as if by a breeze. The flatness of the presentation seemed at odds with the seeming immersiveness invited by the quietude of the piece and I couldn't help but think that it would have been far more effective as a fully-immersive VR installation with the viewer in the centre of the bouquet and all the plants swaying around and through him or her.
Spray by Philip Pirolo proved rather perplexing to me. A set of seven red velvet orifices were placed and arranged on the gallery wall. Pirolo is concerned with sexual identity and social norms and the piece intends to use surface, beauty and form as metaphors for control, desire and loss. The connection between the soft, red, velvet fabric as punctured holes, simultaneously inviting and disturbing, to the sexual is obvious, but I found myself scratching my head over their particular arrangement and the number of them.
Jaunty by Helena Goldwater depicts a fanciful sort of botanical illustration, one of imaginary plants. It uses very fine and delicate line-work, despite being watercolour which I found impressive.
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| Jaunty, Helena Goldwater |
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| Jaunty detail |
There was also a piece titled Out of the Whale by Guillaume Paris from 2008 which depicts part of the scene from the Disney animated feature Pinocchio where Pinocchio is lying face down in a shallow puddle of water. The 3D environment is extremely crude (even by the standards of 2008, or indeed if it had been made five years earlier) and didn't grab me in any way. However it reminded me of the internet meme depicting the same scene, often with the word 'DEAD' plastered over top, which got me wondering whether the meme preceded Paris' work or if the work preceded the meme and whether there was any connection between the two or if in both cases a similar process of cultural mining had simply unearthed the same material for appropriation.
The last piece that I will comment on is Nature Morte 2 by Cindy Wright from 2010 which depicts a dead fish pressed into a goldfish bowl. It is oil painted on linen and quite large, so that it makes a strong impact by virtue of its scale (the fish is depicted much larger than in life). I found it notable for the way in which it takes a strong concept and then followed through with a detailed rendering at large scale, thereby deriving its impact. The eye level of the fish is presented at the eye level of the viewer, which makes the work engaging and possibly accusatory.
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| Nature Morte 2 (2010) by Cindy Wright |
