- Venue
- The New Art Gallery Walsall
- Location
- West Midlands
Upon beginning the cycle of life, every natural being confronts the trials of survival. As humans we seem to forget that we are part of this, setting ourselves above nature’s barbarous world. But still, we are drawn into natures unknown, as we strive to unpick its inner workings through intense scrutiny, experimentation and collection of living creatures. Directed by orchestrated moments of cruelty and beauty, The Nature of the Beast is an exhibition that treads a fine line between allure and repulsion, calling into question the very essence of mankind. What is the nature of the beast?
The artists selected, Mat Collishaw, Polly Morgan, Tessa Farmer, Mark Fairnington, Olly & Suzi and Patricia Piccinni use varying media to critically engage with the ways in which the animal kingdom is documented, categorized and portrayed in both culture and contemporary art. Within this short write up I will highlight the pieces that really struck a chord with me when I visited the exhibition at the New Art Gallery Walsall.
Usually regarded as social and affectionate creatures, the brightly hued taxidermy Lovebirds in Polly Morgan’s Myocardial Infarction scavenge like vultures over a bleeding heart. This violent construction bears a contradiction between beauty and brutality that is unsettling within the viewer, as frozen in time is a reminder of our primal instincts.
Coexisting in the space with Morgan’s three taxidermy pieces are a number of works from Mat Collishaw’s Insecticide series. The pitifully crushed wings of moths and butterflies are amplified in scale allowing the remnants of these minute beings to be studied in detail. The finite becomes infinite as these creatures, symbolic of transformation; death and beauty become celestial bodies at the hands of the artist. Coupled with Morgan’s work the control we hold over creatures smaller or less able than ourselves becomes visible, re-evaluating attitudes towards the animal kingdom.
The immense detail in Mark Fairnington’s six prize bull paintings reflects the reproduction and meticulous breeding of live-stock. Each is stood in an iconic, stoic pose that harks back to the history of painting and is offset by clinical, stark white backgrounds. Stripped from their natural surroundings, the bulls are treated like lab specimens, and come under scrutiny which, as a viewer, you cannot help but par-take in through the awe created by Fairningtons highly detailed and exquisitely painted surfaces.
The ‘beasts’ portrayed within the work of these artists do not represent the natural world but rather a reflection upon ourselves as animal consumers. Our fascinations and fears have culminated in prolonging research and experimentation of animals in order for humankind to maintain control of the world through knowledge and power. Is this survival of the fittest? Is this the true nature of the beast?
