Making & Unmaking (installation view)
I am a huge fan of textile art, from Ghada Amer’s sexually
explicit needlework canvases, Louise Bourgeois’s fabric works and soft
sculptures, through to Sarah Lucas’s Bunny and Nuds series. On reading that Camden Art Centre’s summer
exhibition “Making & Unmaking” was to feature a collection of work including
painting, tapestries, traditional fabrics and ceramics and with Dorothea
Tanning, Wangechi Muti and Sheila Hicks among the sixty artists featured, this
was an exhibition which I was determined not to miss.
Saint Louis (2015), Luis Monteiro
Taking up all three galleries as well as pieces in the
central space and garden, “Making & Unmaking” was huge. From West African textiles, Bauhaus jewellery
to contemporary portraiture and sculpture and addressing themes that included
portraiture, gender, sexuality, overall the exhibition explored the rituals of
making that underpin an artist’s work, rather than being about textile art as a genre. Curator and fashion designer, Duro
Olowu brought his skills from both disciplines and brings together seemingly
disparate artists into his eclectic vignettes, with sophisticated aplomb. This interlacing of ideas, eras and
influences (and materials) created a visually rich and stimulating mix.
Personal favourites included Étreinte (1969) by Dorothea Tanning (no surprise
there) and Yinka Shonibare’s Butterfly Kid (Boy) II (2015). I also really enjoyed Luis Monteiro Saint
Louis (2015) video.
Top: Étreinte (1969), Dorothea Tanning Bottom: Butterfly Kid (Boy) II (2015), Yinka Shonibare
However, as I walked
through the galleries I started to wonder if there was too much on display and
perhaps, just perhaps, the multitude of materials and textures was a little
suffocating. I found the decision to
keep information on each wall of artists/works to one grouping at the end of each,
rather than providing a sheet you could walk around with, very frustrating. I think having to constantly return to one
source of information while viewing definitely contributed to the premature
arrival of gallery fatigue (along with the intense heat in the galleries
themselves), which I haven’t felt for a long time at an exhibition.
Despite this, I
would still recommend this exhibition.
Oluwo’s vision and passion have brought together rarely seen work in an
ambitious format with surprising juxtapositions, which (labelling and temperature
issues aside), Camden Art Centre excels at giving a platform to.
Making & Unmaking (installation view)
No comments:
Post a Comment