It was a boring non-hungover Sunday which needed something other than food shopping and gym. I had been waiting for the new gallery set up and I had finally found a chance to go.
When it comes to Otobong Nkanga I instantly think of performance. It was interesting to see her tapestry and wall hangings in ‘The Encounter That Took a Part of Me’. First thing that came to mind when seeing the tapestry was the word rust. The overall exhibition was based on the possibilities of contamination, decay and states of mutation or transition. The wall work it’s self is continued around the room which is displayed as an installation. There are three display structures which are connected with drawings. From a distance the tapestry almost looks like a satellite image of a planet. This installation delves into the idea of rusting and decay as metephores for corruption, ideological shifts and power. I was really intrigued by the marble illusion which almost created a rich aesthetic through the use of metallic colours against the warm earthy tones. The image below is an up close photograph of what i took of the wall hanging tapestry in the gallery. I was particularly drawn in by the close up perspective because of how effective the tapestry detailing looks. Whereas from afar the colours merge into one giving an overall textured look. The left of the image is where the coloured print continues onto the wall and then around the room, connecting all tapestry pieces together in an installation format.
FOXP2 by Marguerite Humeau, was also being shown at the contemporary. This was available to view from the outside of the gallery as shown in the photograph i took below.There is a wall-shuddering heartbeat which reverberates down the pitch-black hall that leads to Marguerite Humeau’s solo exhibition. I was shocked but excited, the way the exhibition was set up meant you had t walk through this before getting to the gallery space, it was a way of forcing the viewer into an uncomfortable space which changed your mindset before viewing the rest of the work.
“It’s trying to create things that at first look very bright and attractive, but are actually horrific. Luminosity is something I think of when looking at the Apple store; they sell light,” Humeau says. “To me, it’s the same premise that many religions have sold: to become immortal, you have to become immaterial.”
FOXP2 is a gene associated with the beginning of language. The whole idea behind it is what if elephants had been humans to the evolution findings. Each elephant represents an emotion, and Humeau has injected substances into each structure to evoke them — ranging from real elephant tears, to alcohol, to hormones associated with euphoria. “I like the idea of high-definition sculpture. It’s more about creating ghosts rather than creating beings,” she explains. “I always want my sculptures to look like they have traveled through time and space, and maybe they are just apparitions and that they could fade at any time.” It was the overall atmosphere of the exhibition that grabbed me. The sound of breathing through the anatomic process, it was almost intimidated, this was enhanced by the size of the sculptures-a really overwhelming exhibition.
morgan reese 