INTERFACE
Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
REVIEW
Stewart Gough: The Mighty Quinn
Gone Tomorrow Gallery, London
7 July – 5 August
Reviewed by: Lucinda Holmes
As a person who walks around hardware shops in a state of ecstatic awe due to the huge array of objects (that have a purpose which is often meaningless to me), I was excited about seeing Stewart Gough’s new sculpture The Mighty Quinn. It is constructed from “readily available plastic objects and components such as drainpipes and machine parts”.
The Gone Tomorrow Gallery focuses on emerging artists such as Gough, a 2005 graduate from Goldsmith’s MA who recently exhibited in Slider, a Cell offsite project.
On entering this small but slick gallery (conventional grey floors and white walls) The Mighty Quinn was already studying me. The show’s title comes from a Dylan song of the same name, where Quinn the Eskimo comes down to earth like a god and changes chaos into happiness. Though Gough’s Quinn was well adapted to the arctic conditions with two short skis and a caterpillar track, I didn’t find him friendly. In fact, I decided to stand in the corner of the gallery hoping that I was out of his gaze.
Made from bits of plumbing that you might normally see looking at the underside of a sink, this imposing creature appeared as if it could come alive at any moment. What sound would it make if it moved? I think its head would spin round and lasers would fire out of the conglomeration of transparent blue tubes. This work is inspiring and reassures me that art can be excellent and playful.
Duchamp and Miro brought objects together and making them functionless through conjunction. The elements of Gough’s sculpture retain their dual purpose: conventional tubing is transformed into robot body parts, and the piping under my sink now has the possibility of becoming part of a mythical being. The Mighty Quinn is definitely a relative of Optimus Prime or Galvatron.
Writer detail:
Lucinda Holmes
Venue detail:
Gone Tomorrow Gallery
22-27 The Oval, Bethnal Green, LONDON E2 9DT
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