Category: Art
Rebecca Strickson: Justice.
Opening this week – group show Phantasmagoria at the Forman’s Smokehouse Gallery, looks at the ways in which cultural symbols are appropriated by advertising and marketing campaigns to create demand for the “ever new”. Historical references are plundered as well as contemporary sub-cultures, which in the first place were usually made in opposition of mass consumption. Phantasmagoria of fashion and other consumer industries misuse cultural symbolism, and by blurring the authenticity of visual culture, confuses the understanding of culture and symbolic meaning in the process.
Andrew James Jones: Crying.
James Unsworth.
Amelia's Magazine readers will recognise the fetishistic depictions of horror created by artists James Unsworth and Andrew James Jones. Less familiar is some intriguing new work by long time contributor (and the only female artist in the exhibition) Rebecca Strickson, who shows some stunning new images based on ideas of allegory and appropriation. I'll let her explain:
'I wanted to look quite specifically at the Monsters as Corporations idea, so the 4 virtues (Temperance, Prudence, Justice and Fortitude) are both traditionally represented as allegorical characters with all the bits and pieces that come with that golden age of representation – the Victorian period – as referenced by the art nouveau and pre-raphelite figures stances and situations. However, I chose to represent the virtues with contemporary characters and backgrounds – as such, Justice is the police force, Prudence the press, Fortitude is the banking community and Temperance is our Government. These are all virtues that these corporation and organisation should be, and should withhold – but appear to be sadly lacking in at the moment…'
Rebecca Strickson: Prudence.
Opening times: Thu + Fri 5 – 9pm, Sat + Sun 12 – 5pm.