- Venue
- The Crypt Gallery
- Location
- London
This group show is a fine example of the strength of curatorial vision, unifying not only the work of nine artists, but the exhibition space as well, creating an experience both unique and rewarding.
The title of the show refers to a ‘space between’, somewhere between ‘being’ and ‘becoming’. Feelings of transformation, possibility, longing and fantasy are richly felt in the works which make up this sensory viewing. Yet the overriding references to death and decay are hard to ignore. With the positioning of artworks amongst headstones and on family crypts, the site-specific nature of the work is brilliantly executed, with the hand of the curator prominent in the display of the sculpture, photography and installation pieces.
The work of both Annie Cattrell and Marilene Oliver are prominent. Cattrell’s study of the interaction between science and art is beautifully rendered in three sculptural works in diverse materials – delicate blown glass, rapid prototyping and bronze. These go hand in hand with Oliver’s use of various scanning technologies to present the body as subject to a new gaze, blurring the line between medical marvel and work of nature. Her Exhausted Figure, a body in acrylic cross section slices lying on a tomb, perfectly conveys the weight of the body, yet the lightness of the material creates the illusion of death as weightless. Both Dervishes (central, front and right axes) and Family Portrait – Mum, Dad, Sophie and Self-Portrait are beautiful explorations of both the strength and fragility of the human body.
Three pinhole photographs by Jan Dunning have much to offer, although I felt they were let down by their framing. Treetwister and Shapeshifter capture a frenzy of movement in a forest ritual. The viewer feels they are witnessing something arcane and druid-like; this motion blur of skin and flailing limbs is imbued with a sinister undertone. While I like the series of other works in the series from which Untitled (attic) comes, this is not the strongest example of her work, which explores the ambiguity and transformative power of pinhole perspective.
The highlight of the exhibition are the three sculptures by Kate McGwire, especially Rile and Sluice, using pigeon feathers to create otherworldly creations of masterful technique and breathtaking impact. The haunting Rile coils around itself in a snake-like form, a slithering boa constrictor of continual movement, made all the more sinister by being trapped in its eerie mausoleum setting. Sluice is a masterpiece, an underground spring of murky feathered water, churning and frothing at the edges and eventually gushing away in a torrent to some unknown destination.
This is a well executed, true art experience, pulled together by a good eye. The only irritation being the occasional poor lighting choice, distracting from rather than highlighting the work. The genius of the location makes the viewer feel a world away from the ringing church bells and traffic on Euston Road above ground. I emerged into daylight from this slice of subterranean historical London and left feeling there should be more shows like this. It is definitely one not to miss.
