1: WITNESS
Through replicating splatter patterns
Within chalk circles, the artist
Draws imaginary lines, connecting
Then and now. The hue and texture
Of dried blood make a tactile link
With living flesh. The temptation
To dwell on gore is sublimated in
The random Rorschach of arterial
Flow, captured on a flat canvas
Imitating walls and floor. Angry
At life and angry at God, he is
Acting out of revenge and ties
The paintings together with wire,
Before lining them up, execution style.
2: MADONNA OF THE HAGGARD HANDS
To subvert the morphology of beauty,
The artist creates cosmetic chaos
In which each blemish is rendered perfect
And the zit is the acme of allure.
One model is placed with fingers to her lips,
Striking a pensive pose in an airport lounge,
Revealing her nails are chipped and dirty,
As she picks at the acne on her chin.
Another shows her balletic toes,
Teetering on each skyscraper stiletto
From her designer collection; to die for,
As they crush her bulging bunions.
A third prides herself on looking younger,
With her yoga toned, healthy eating form,
But is depicted injecting dermal filler,
Straight into her liver spotted claws.
3: DISHING THE DIRT
The contents of a vacuum cleaner bag
Assume a geological significance
As the artist arranges domestic detritus
To reveal the hidden strata of decay.
Placing what is deemed to be rubbish
In the context of an artistic exhibit
Creates an associative resonance
Between the transcendent and the everyday.
Each piece of fluff and scrap of paper
Once ascribed its own particular order
Plays out the dynamic of a drama
And moulds an image more real than clay.
4: THE OUTSIDERS
“Politics isn’t rocket science”,
The artist declares, as she replaces
The Prime Minister’s brain
With a bag of oven chips.
Next to this homage
To the spirit of Magritte,
She hangs a reproduction of a Rubens
Painted in invisible ink.
Visitors are encouraged to strip
Behind a gauze screen
And to rediscover each other’s bodies,
While a recorded voice shouts:
“Nooo! Please stop!”
