This week, SOURCE made a visit to a private early showcase of the Phoenix Art Space’s latest exhibition: Too Much To Dream, an exploration of the human psyche through a radical subversionary and surrealist lens. You can check out the collection at the gallery until 17th November.
Too Much To Dream is comprised of work by six contemporary artists: Billy Chainsaw, Gavin Jay, Girl Shit, Mal Troon, Maxine Allan, and Rob Rinn. Their unique visions come to life within the exhibition space, taking the form of paintings, collages, and audio-visual displays.
Through striking imagery and soul-stirring sounds, the artists breathe life into the exhibition’s running themes of transformation, nostalgia, and social commentary. As described by the exhibition’s organiser, Ed Jones, Too Much To Dream aims to bring viewers on “an unforgettable journey to the centre of the mind”, where grief and unrest meet with quiet contemplation to express what lies deep within the unconscious.
Upon entering the exhibition space, we are first struck by the elusive sounds of Mal Troon’s auditory composition, an evocative array of ghostly noises, bending seamlessly between moods both gentle and fierce. Glancing around the room, as we take in the haunting melodies, there is an imminent feeling of nostalgia, as though returning to a place visited before.
The audio is accompanied by a looping video displayed on a nearby monitor, which depicts scenes of lonesome home interiors and hazy countryside landscapes. This installation, Troon explains, comprises footage from the movies Mother And Son (Sokurov, 1998) and Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1975), as well as original footage taken by the artist. It’s all blended together to produce a dreamlike sequence which is void of a linear narrative and open to the viewer’s interpretation.
Our attention is then grabbed by the central installation by Maxine Allan, entitled Object Consistency, within which dozens of found objects sit upon miniature shelves encased within a glowing wooden frame. Described by the artist as a conversation around transformation throughout childhood, this piece displays the items which children often become attached to when growing up, in place of the close relationship they once shared with their mother, a psychological process known as object consistency.
However, the genius of this piece lies in its thoughtful presentation, which allows the viewer to consider multiple perspectives of the artwork. For instance, a small glass orb hanging above its top shelves offers a distorted view of the piece, making the objects appear even more elusive and dreamlike from up-close. Additionally, the placement of dozens of small mirrors behind each item allows the viewer to see themselves within the artwork, relating themselves intimately to the objects on display as if they were a part of their very own childhood.
Across the exhibition space, Gavin Jay’s collage installation offers a whimsical expression of the mind’s most imaginative facets. Contrasting one’s wondrous interior with one’s civilised exterior, Jay’s work does a magnificent job of revealing the child-like whimsy which lives within us all, though it may be concealed by layers of formality and reserve. Illustrated by explosions of colour and form, this hardy exterior is penetrated by the joys of expression, exuberance, and vitality, embedding a sense of nostalgia within Jay’s work.
Moving across the room to the work of Billy Chainsaw, we’re met with a series of paintings which are equally vibrant as Jay’s in colour and form, yet vastly different in their content. Chainsaw’s installation explores society’s obsession with perfection, and how many will go to great lengths to alter their appearance, all to achieve the goal of ultimate assimilation.
Chainsaw’s depictions of bandaged-up faces, inspired by media and film, consider the “butchering” and “transformation” which people undertake to distance themselves from their perceived imperfections. Chainsaw, however, describes himself as “a big fan of imperfection”, a philosophy which he extends to his artistic process through the use of hand-pulled screen printing. The authenticity which he pours into his work reaches out to the viewer, inviting them not only into his world but further into their own, where they may discover unconscious truths hereto unnoticed but now vying for their attention.
Continuing along the exhibition space, we stumble into a unique garden of Eden where the “Eve series” is displayed, an installation by the artist Girl Shit. This striking series of paintings and photographs considers the shame, persecution, and injustice faced by the figure of Eve throughout time, acting as a powerful illustration of the female experience. The artist draws inspiration from pop culture and film to create imagery which feels distinctly familiar, leaving us with an eerie feeling of bewilderment and rage which haunts us long after leaving the gallery.
The exhibition’s final installation comes from artist Rob Rinn, whose clever use of black and white imagery allows his work to stand out amongst its colourful counterparts in the space around them. Featuring cut-outs from a discontinued World War II book, Rinn’s collages offer a view of the cross-section of war, where rough rubble and bodies meet the finite edges of the piece containing them. Viewers can expect to leave with a lump in their throat, as the evocative imagery strikes a personal and transcendent note, highlighting Rinn’s astonishing talent for storytelling through collage alone.
To experience the full breadth of these artists’ imaginative displays, be sure to visit the Too Much To Dream exhibition between now and November 17th, at the Phoenix Art Space, Brighton.
Words by Rhiannon Ní Chinnéide
Photos by Stan O’Shea
