Indifference is isolation. In difference is texture and wonder.

Schlossberg

Divisions, rooms and corners at Catalyst Arts are occupied by a variety of mediums. Through the positioning and the presence of these works, a sense of wonder and memory is evoked. Key themes surface as one navigates the space: texture, scale, place, edge and light. Each artist aims to introduce new modes of communication through use of sculpture, video, sound and painting. Assemblage, installation and performance are three-dimensional processes that operate distinctly from traditional methods of sculpture.

Vasiliki Stasinaki’s, Hellenism, is a work that commands attention. Three monitors are stacked like a pillar, surrounded by freestanding Greek statuettes. You feel the urge to come close, to study the carefully casted female faces, which embody the emotions coming from the screens. The work addresses (dis)connection of place, a striking theme that also underpins Sarah Smith’s Loom. Referencing the historical struggle for interconnectivity of women referencing labour. The entanglement of the loom threatens us, towers over us, as the body that ‘makes’ is displaced by the body that ‘perceives’.

A sculptural installation by John Connolly displays an assortment of found and made objects, elevating them from the floor of the gallery using a plinth, which becomes part of the work and showcases his interest in methods of display. Beyond this, we are invited to view the intimate canvases of Saffron Monks-Smith. In the process of looking, our bodies are controlled. We move closer to view these small pieces that seek to capture our fear of darkness and our fascination with the unknown. On the opposing wall, we are introduced to Gemma Kirkpatrick’s painting series, A House Made of Sugar. On alarger scale and using a tense colour palette, we are confronted with lost objects and forgotten spaces. Objects find themselves taking the place of figures, and human gestures exist within the shadows. There are connections between Kirkpatrick’s paintings and Stephanie Tanney’s sculptural installation. Exploring narratives of home and displacement, we are invited to explore her manipulated wardrobe, catching glimpses of different angles, via a mirror placed behind the structure. Through use of lighting, the piece is highly complimented by expressive shadows. Both artists transform our perceptions of objecthood and value, creating curious juxtapositions and experiences.

A sculptural video installation by Nollaig Molloy is situated in an enclosed space. Two video works, projected onto a table, are accompanied by narrated audio The work seeks to explore the values of craft in a contemporary context, posing questions about gesture and abstraction in the action of making. Similarly, Dominic McKeown’s sharp and exposed sculptures emphasise the importance of process. The relationship between metal and cement is dramatised by lights, casting harsh shadows. The materials are manipulated and exposed, connected and disconnected. Similar material concerns run through my video installation, Loved to Death, comprisingclose-up and confrontational images of exposed flesh, supported by a text piece. Here, the body lives as something fragmented and desecrated; the body is the object. Fragmentation also occurs in Sinead O’Neill-Nicholl’s performative sound piece, Fuck You Up, which invites viewers to ascend a ladder into an enclosed space, where they encounter a powerful deconstruction of the female voice.

Jennifer Alexander’s Bonnie is, Just Over a Few Horizons, displays her interest in process and memory. This large-scale piece features projected images, which illuminate the unique texture of the canvas. There is specific emphasis on distortion of image and memories over time. Further examining the relationship between texture and memory, Valanti Athanasiou uses abstraction to challenge conventional perception and thinking. Her projection displays patterns supported by spoken word, promoting feelings of tranquillity and consciousness. Rosemary McMillen’s video installation conveys modes of communication between feeling and thought, reality and abstraction. Video projected onto casted pots, highlights performative aspects that can exist within contemporary sculptural practices.

Developed in line with popular culture, contemporary sculptural practices have embraced abstraction, futurism and installation, among other approaches. ‘KEEP-DRY’ has successfully managed to combine a diversity of mediums and is a prime example of how sculpture has evolved to truly expose ideas of presence and wonder.

KEEP-DRY ran at Catalyst Arts from 9 to 17 January 2020.