Blurred Boundaries

Year: 2010
Venue: Dissonant scapes — Liminal: Syntaxes
Materials: Oil / etching / mixed media on canvas
Dimensions: 130 × 220 cm

Hanging, tattered canvases suspended by chains — bodies, meat, the disintegration of the soul and the descent to a soul-less piece of meat.

The starting point for this piece began with researching taxonomy and museology. A cabinet display by Mark Dion as part of the Tate ‘Classified’ exhibition provided the trigger point for exploring the idea of suspension — hanging, and consequently hanging meat and butcher shops.

Through this, I wanted to investigate the feeling and notion of being suspended and devoid of soul and spirit — the disintegration of the soul and the descent to becoming a soul-less piece of meat.

My research included articles on man, the animal and the soul by Descartes, Aristotle and John Berger, and Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’. Visual references include the film Fight Club and particularly relevant artists Freud and Bacon, Rauschenberg, Burri and various assemblage artists.

Details — 2 images

Blurred Boundaries — Canvas — flowing forms in red, purple and ochre — Canvas — flowing forms in red, purple and ochre

Blurred Boundaries — Garment hanging on a wooden hanger — patterned with maps and text — Garment hanging on a wooden hanger — patterned with maps and text