INTERFACE

REVIEW

Repetition and Sequence

Jerwood Space, London
3 August – 8 September

Reviewed by: Will McCrory

‘Repetition and Sequence’ treads lightly on familiar territory, and many of the artists utilise pre-established artistic language to translate replication and sequence into a poetic aesthetic. The remit of the exhibition is one of resolute aestheticism and there is little discernable attempt to advance or question preconceptions on the nature of art. Yet, it is not without its small pleasures and whilst it operates in a formalist domain, from this microcosm emerges works that subtly harness visual metaphor to augment philosophical and poetic reflection albeit of a whimsical tenor.

The initial encounter of the exhibition presents a sensual audio-visual experience characterised by its delicacy; the boundaries of the works by Zadok Ben-David, Suki Chan, Silia Ka Tung and Emilia Izquierdo, effortlessly blur. This effect is reflective of a curatorial attempt to create cohesiveness otherwise lacking throughout the exhibition. These works form the hearth of the exhibition, serving to establish and define its parameters. Zadok Ben-David’s Black field, a beautifully constructed floor piece consisting of miniature and intricate plants and flowers of various shapes and hues, immediately grasps attention. Moving around these faux botanical creations, colours undulate and disperse, their appearance in constant flux. This certainly intimates immense technical skill; however the suspicion emerges that this is an attempt to provoke clichéd introspection on the inevitable nature of transience, the silkiness of its execution is subdued by cumbersome expounding.

Similarly, Suki Chan’s In Silence is hurled against two adjacent gallery walls with an admirable enthusiasm, its painstakingly created contours ripple and mesmerise, but playful aestheticism can only entertain for so long. However, the sporadic yet strangely melodic chimes emitted from the accompanying audio piece lend an enchanting texture to both Chan’s and the surrounding exhibits.

The rhythm of the exhibition is ruffled by a defiant interjection by Ludovica Gioscia, entitled Pop Arzigogolo. The work genuinely engulfs and its multiple layers of colour and illusion are variously created through the devise of relief and hypnotic geometric patterns. Gioscia explains that the work was intended as a history of club culture and this would explain the pastiche aesthetic. In this trans-historical and multi-faceted visual sensation Gioscia brazenly adorns the wall with references to popular culture ranging from sixties psychedelic patterns, Hells Angelesque skulls, acid house smiley faces – even allusions to William Morris’s arts and craft style through gothic chic. Intriguingly a rococo print has been included, depicting a classical arch adorned by frolicking putti which seems to consummate the baroque theatricality of the piece.

Pop Arzigogolo, which is full of wonderful conceits that play with the act of looking and dismantle visual prejudice, also relates to Gioscia’s experience of growing up in Rome, a multi-layered city crafted and manipulated according to the ideologies of its various rulers. The piece, Gioscia feels (and it would be hard to disagree), is a reflection of the visual sensibility cultivated by living in Rome. This is epitomised by the works’ abundant layers of history and style: sometimes organic and floral, at others rectilinear and totalitarian.

Rana Begum’s No 116 situated in the entrance hall briskly reacquaints us with the previously established demeanour of the exhibition. Ostensibly, it is visually equivalent to sonic wallpaper and the uniformity of its appearance perceived when approaching it from the side is disrupted when your eyes move across its surface. Yet it is to some extent a flat visual experience, lacking in intellectual depth. Indeed, ‘Repetition and Sequence’ is an exhibition of silky panache that avails itself to providing aesthetic rather than cerebral gratification, but from the outset it never sought to re-invent the wheel and must be viewed on these terms.

Writer detail:
William McCrory

Venue detail:
Jerwood Space (The)
171 Union Street, LONDON SE1 0LN

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