→ 10 Jan 10 at 3 pm
Mystic Shaman:
Exhibition idea…
(Excuse the rambling, I am never very eloquent when trying to gather an idea together.)
Examining the representation and exploration of mysticism in contemporary art and design, from an esoteric, pataphysical standpoint.
Magic, shamans, mysticism and spirituality all hold an intense curiosity and interest. As children we are fed moral teachings disguised as fairytales, myths and folklore, the search for meaning and spiritual connection almost constantly in our peripheral vision, an attempt to ground our lives and find meaning for all things. Perhaps it is from this and the desire to engage and understand that there is so much work exploring this theme. It could well be a trend, for instance in the fall/winter 2009 collections there was a strong gothic current, with black magik, wicca and paganism all evident sources of inspiration. Essentially it is all part of a wider escapism and re-connection to old ways and nature, a chance to forget our highly technologised, hectic lives of routine and responsibility.
Artists:
Matthew Stone graduated from Camberwell in 2004. He is a multi-disciplinary artist, DJ and self described shaman.
As a key member of the collective !WOWOW!, he has playfully assumed the role of shamanistic lightening conductor for the energies of his collaborators. These friends and fellow night-time players are documented in chiaroscuro-laden photography, dramatically portraying them stripped of context-locating clothing, and locked in self-absorbed states of romanticised visionary ecstasy.
Stone’s emphasis on explorative communal ritual, on the revolutionary potential of participation that reacts and questions its own meaning, definitely points to the art of tomorrow I think, an immaterial quality equal parts idealist belief and cynicism, working as an alternative, very palpable reality running along the rest of society.” Lupe Nunez-Fernandez
His Ritual series of photographs and performances, while hedonistic, have an underlying sense of a search for a communal society and flirtation with pagan and native american indian ideologies.
Hannah Davies is currently a student at Goldsmiths, studying BA Art Practice. Her work often explores dreams and symbols, while Owl Ritual as indicated by the title has an almost pagan, anamorphic feel to it. A masterful use of natural light to create and capture dreamlike moments, her work seems more emotive than explicit, more ambiguous than didactic. [The process of understanding and contextulising] is similar to recalling a dream - remembering the pieces that seemed significant to piece together some understanding of what’s being conveyed. Concept driven ; yet there is a quality about it that does not entirely reveal itself to you. It is a secret, or a dream, maybe it’s a lost memory?
Engageing the viewer in a postmodern exercise of continued questioning/question posing and dreamlike uncertainty, rather than seamlessly resolving and revealing itself.
The Canadian sculptor David Altmejd mixes the real with the faux-mythical, fairytale and symbolic allusions to create unsettling worlds. Werewolves are a re-current motif and his use of crystals, fur, taxidermy and the creation of sculptural systems loaded with what he calls “symbolic potential” and open ended narratives, further enhances this playfulness with mysticism.
Even the recent exhibition of Ryan McGinleys Moonmilk series at Alison Jacques Gallery has a current of this running through the work. Nubile, young men and women covorting in caves bathed with otherwordly light and streaks of colour. An air of ritual or shamanic practice, healing baths of religious superstition. (I can’t upload anymore images so here is the direct link: Ryan McGinley Moonmilk)
[Images: David Altmejd, Hollow-Mark McCoy, Matthew Stone, Marina Abramovic,Mark McCoy, Hannah Davies, Dries Van Noten for Nomenus Quarterly, Matthew Stone from Ritual series]
