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C102
review
Cork: Happy Accidents
and Unveiled at Triskel
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from
left to right: Sandra Munchin, Prisoner
of Perfection,
Peekaboo,
Velvet
Undertones. All works are mixed media; photo
Keith Kennedy;
courtesy Triskel Arts Centre
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A
heady mix of mystery, romance, suspicion and exoticism has always
been central to the West's perception of the Middle East. From
Delacroix to André Gide, David Lean to John Keane, the
fascination for Middle Eastern culture has provided a rich source
of inspiration. However, the rise of fundamentalism and the
influence of a selective U.S. international policy has added
a poisonous barb to the romantic perception - most dramatically,
of course, post September 11.
In Gallery One of the Triskel Arts Centre, Unveiled brought
together the work of three Cork-based artists who have all travelled
or worked in various Middle Eastern countries. In light of the
current tensions, I found myself looking for responses which
set out to confront the difficult issues. Sandra Minchin used
photography, mixed media and text-based elements to explore
parallels and contradictions between the vanity engendered by
the beauty industry and the strictures imposed on Middle Eastern
women - both of which are impositions, but in different forms.
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Dominic
Fee, Scape 2, etching;
photo Keith Kennedy; courtesy Triskel Arts Centre
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By
comparison Dominic Fee's paper moulds were more discrete as
they conveyed an evocation of Islamic pattern and decoration.
In these tactile works, Fee described linear structures rendered
with a freehand style which lacked the geometric precision and
mathematical purity normally associated with Islamic design.
Furthermore, the dark-brown tones of the paper and the heavy
wooden frames compounded a sense of ponderous weight, where
light and space usually reside. His etchings of elusive minimalist
architectural spaces, however, did have more visual impact,
despite their comparatively small scale.
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Keith
Kennedy, Desert Track, etching;
photo Keith Kennedy; courtesy Triskel Arts Centre
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The
romantic idyll alluded to earlier was manifest in Keith Kennedy's
etchings, where pictorial views of desert sands, pyramids and
minarets lent a cinematic atmosphere. Various motifs, such as
hieroglyphic text, were integrated with the main subjects, adding
an interesting counterpoint to the picturesque views.
The sharing of the same theme within Unveiled was an
attribute not so obvious in the selection of artists gathered
for Happy Accidents in Gallery Two of the Triskel. Many
of the nine contributors showed a predilection for dealing with
the human form, but with markedly divergent approaches to media
and realisation - an aspect which defined the main curatorial
link between them.
Alex Walsh's photographs explored an idealised representation
of the male figure through a series of voguish, provocative
poses. This beauty and idealism was shattered by his screenprints
which used graphic illustrations to reproduce the murderous
actions and evil thoughts of the serial killer Denis Nilsen.
Together, both sets of work seemed to be addressing the dilemma
of the body beautiful in its vulnerability to the ravages of
age, and more horrendously, the psychosis of an ugly mind.
Neil Lucey's representation of the human form had something
of the eeriness of Walsh's serial-killer diary, but also, in
contradiction, had a more humorous edge, as photomontages of
disproportionate facial features collided together. The mask-like
visages produced by Mags Geaney's paintings portrayed children
as sinister, ghost-like entities. Paul La Rocque's comic-book
figures offered a more light-hearted and innocent representation.
And Kieran Moore's Mannerist distortions drew attention to how
the human form is represented in different spheres, either to
serve erotic needs or to question society's attitudes, conventions
and even its prejudices.
Martin Healy's photograph of a quiet, light-dappled woodland
was conspicuous against the other works described so far, in
that it was about the absence, rather than the presence of humans.
The setting for the photograph was Amityville in small-town
America, heightening the sense of isolation and fear which exists
on the periphery between human civilisation and the dark, impenetrable
depths of the subconscious.
The remaining contributors presented installation-based work.
Thesaurus Rex's Kabuki dealt with the dissemination of
imagery in a fluxus-like manner. Using appropriate levels of
irony, the registered-trademark symbol was photocopied and piled
on a shelf, with the viewer free to take a copy.
The Doe & Rea installation Pot Belly Dogs was a more
involved arrangement with a bizarre confluence of objects and
ephemera. Kitsch and parody were present in the form of a playback
of a Roger Whittiker CD, a low-budget 1980s movie, and a tea
towel with dog illustrations. A notice board with post-it stickers
allowed visitors to write comments, which was a novel interactive
aspect that redressed somewhat the impenetrable concept behind
the installation.
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Alex
Pentek: Frogs, origami; photo Alex Walsh;
courtesy Triskel Arts Centre
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In contrast Alex Pentek's installation Frog was much
more accessible, with a playful humour and simplicity that appealed
to the child within. Twenty-one cardboard origami frogs were
arranged brilliantly to suggest a surging mass as they spilled
from the window space, slipping over each other to escape. Made
me smile anyway.
Unveiled, Gallery One, Triskel Arts Centre, September
2002 and Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, December 12, 2002,
to January 6, 2003.
Happy
Accidents, Gallery Two, Triskel Arts Centre, September 2002
Mark Ewart is a part-time Education Lecturer at the Crawford
College of Art and Design; he is also an art teacher and writer
based in Cork.
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