SPACE 4: DAVID LAWRENCE
Exhibition dates. 18 - 29 May, 2022
Opening Reception : Thur 19 May 2022, 6:00 - 8.30pm.
The Expectancy of Form
My ‘Forms,’ are often material and process driven. These explorations have centred on the discovery of found objects, broken or unbroken, repurposing them as visually exciting objects.
I have a ‘Materials at Hand’ approach to making work. I will scan a field of available materials and push and pull them to breaking point, combining or subtracting until there is a revelation. This exploration happens in that special zone in the middle of binary opposites, where the materials drift between intended purpose and redundancy. The central text being in this instance – ‘garden ornament’/’toy’ and the marginal text being ‘hard rubbish’.
The anticipated outcome is to reveal to the viewer an additional or new binary. A narrative that flips between the central and marginal texts. My desire is to create a form that is visually exciting; something that at first glance creates an expectancy of the recognisable or resolved. On closer inspection the object has a dual identity, a second life. Things that are not what they seem but are somehow more than they are. From this perspective the viewer can reboot their view, narrative or experience of the central ‘motif’: Form.
The second element of the show includes a collection of found photos. These works are a sample of my response to being in ‘lockdown’. The series, ‘Real Life Sci-Fi’, explores images through time, the manipulation with medium draws the attention of the viewer within the photo. The overall narrative tells many stories, the covering of the face, the need for oxygen, the desire for forward thinking, the threat of war.
The physical printing of the photo and the ‘analogue’ application of medium was intentional; aconscious decision not to create the works digitally. To encourage the viewer to look and then relook, not glance and then dismiss with a flick of the index finger.
The Exhibition view
The Artist
Interview with artist
David Lawrence
Exhibition 18-29 May 2022
1. Your sculptures explore the concept of ‘binaries’, ‘dual identities’ and ‘second lives,’ how so?
Regarding binaries, the work is more about creating a new binary, one not imagined. For example, 'Shadow' was a toy horse found in hard rubbish in the street. The central themes are 'rubbish' or 'toy', by adding medium the work takes on a new appearance to the viewer. The central and marginal texts are horse and rubbish. The work smashes through those and creates something fresh for the viewer. The expectancy is horse, upon closer observation it could be something else, 'skinless horse' or 'alien horse'...
2. The ‘real life science fiction’ series appears to foreshadow the current state of the world. Do you intend to highlight these similarities throughout the creative process or is it something that occurs coincidentally?
The Real Life series once hung did seem to have a dark or black comedy feel. The result was coincidental. It was more about looking back and drawing the viewers attention to historical images that really resonated with me.
Q & Photography : BLACKCAT GALLERY & Isabella Imperatore