Procedures & Materials, Collectionair, 2017
Published in Collectionair, 24 May 2017
Collectionair
24 May 2017 - 24 July 2017
In the mid-1960s, process became a marked theme within the history of art. Rooted in the Dada movement and Abstract Expressionism, materials, procedures and facture began to take precedence over the final work. Eschewing the fabricated modular units of Minimalism, the artworks intentionally left exposed traces of their creation. Echoing the common refrain ‘it’s the journey, not the destination,’ Procedures & Materials follows in this tradition, investigating new processes in art. The exhibition brings together twenty-seven works by five international contemporary artists whose practices emphasize the interaction between maker and medium.
Printing, cutting, assembling and folding photographs into sculptural forms, Jessica Thalmann attempts to unravel conventional understandings of photographic images and their material implications. Meanwhile, archival imagery and constructed photographs form the basis of Alexandra Lethbridge’s practice. In both instances, the artist’s research becomes integral to our understanding and interpretation of their works.
Inspired by ideas and processes within photography, Will Thomson’s paintings seek to recreate the darkroom moment when an exposed print is placed in developer and appears almost instantaneously. The contrast between the control the artist wages over his variables and his inability to predict the final outcome is central to his practice.
Moving away from the photographic process, Scarlett Bowman’s abstract reliefs address the materiality that informs contemporary commodity culture. Playfully rearranging and casting sustainable materials, utility gives way to symbolism as she invites us to think about the shiny gleam of modern manufacture. Reappropriation is also central to Leni Dothan’s practice; her installations use repurposed wood and breezeblocks to create a set of alternative classical images. Choosing to depict nightmares over dreams, viewers are confronted with disturbing ideas that aim to sabotage patriarchal narratives.
