‘islands’ brings together the works of artist and curator richard ducker and collaborators ruth gibson and bruno martelli.
[from the press release]
the title, with its implications of being at once static and afloat, provides a suitably myth-laden motif for the notion of technological shift that is central to each enquiry. analogue and digital sensibilities are brought together in the creation of spectacle-savvy, visually seductive environments for coleman projects’ gallery and shed spaces.
in situ, ducker’s velvety modernesque objects evoke both literary and filmic investigations into science fiction, and the retro aesthetics associated with envisioning the future. gibson/martelli’s multi-media manifestations of epic polar journeys, meanwhile, are rich with references to the heroic exploits of iconic explorers and art historical representations of the natural world.
ducker’s firmly analogue, entirely static and unashamedly synthetic presentation of ‘dark matter flowers’ (2014) brings to mind computer-based means of recreating action: from the motion picture greenscreen to the eerie avatar landscapes of gaming zones. his highly desirable objects appear to have been made with multiple dimensions in mind, whether the flat surface-world of the motif, that of virtual post-production or the physically negotiable object realm.
gibson/martelli, on the other hand, work with the technologies and formal devices of video gaming to explore ideas of the sublime. their application of the gaming vernacular speaks of our contemporary preoccupation with screen-based and interactive technologies in the search for meaning and mediated experience. here they present two new works based on a residency in the arctic circle: ‘white island (2014) and perfect circle (2013), which sit in the divide between the real and the imagined. these beautiful, yet wryly interactive polar vistas bring to light the changing ways and means of experiencing a place.
