The work in this exhibition came through studying the space between opposites - masculine & feminine, boldness & awkwardness, confidence & shyness, slick/sexy & ugly bulk.
The first work the viewer sees upon entering the space is "abandon the universe (for me)", a 1.8m x 1.2m sheet of black mirror with the words "abandon the universe" scrawled in gold paint on it's surface. This work serves as an introduction to the embrace of superficiality and nihilist romance that invades much of the other work.
Moving into the main space, the viewer is again confronted with his/her own image, reflected in a vast (3.6m x 1.8m) sheet of black mirror. This work, "I never felt closer to you than this" looms over and felects three gloss-painted plaster sculptures each sprouting a bank of las-vegas style coloured sign bulbs.
The pouting, promiscuous nature of the awkward, lumpy, glossed-up sculptures exudes desperate need, echoing the text on the glass "I never felt closer to you than this" that itself is so at odds with the confidence of it's own slick materiality. The triangulation of the sculptures forms a centrepoint for reading this text, placing the viewer at the centrepoint of this odd, desperate relationship of need and desire.
Press: Click here to read a review of the exhibition in the Glasgow Herald
Click on the thumbnails opposite to view larger images of the work, and short descriptions of each specific piece.
Text: Sandy Smith, June 2010
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