Mantle/Mantel

BACKGROUND: Recasting the relationship between the body and painting, Mantle/mantel shows how material elements, such as the garment, sculpture, wall and lighting, are all implicated in the realisation of an artwork. This installation draws on the lineage of how garments are used in contemporary art assemblages, such as Robert Rauschenberg’s Combines, Jim Dine’s suit works and Isa Genzken’s dressed mannequins. With respect to Genzken’s modified garments, ‘[they show] the extent to which both illusionism and modernist ‘flatness’ presumed the neutrality of the support’ (Lisa Lee, 2017). Among other conceptual resources this idea framed my investigations of the various material elements that must be present in the realisation of an artwork. CONTRIBUTION: Mantle/mantel comprised of a light work/wall painting accompanied by a shelf designed in unison with a wool coat. A catalogue essay featuring a poem by Dr Antonia Pont and designed by Adam Cruickshank accompanied the show. This the latest iteration of ongoing research where I fashion garments to dress objects that we routinely engage with and position them in relation to painting. Drawing from an expanded understanding of painting where the surface of the artwork becomes more than the application of pigment to canvas, my material investigations reveal how an exhibition is manifested in the various surfaces that it is comprised of. The lighting, gallery space, wall painting, shelf, garment, poem and the design of the catalogue worked together not as neutral elements but combined as active elements to contribute to new knowledge. Surfaces manifest as a site of material investigation. SIGNIFICANCE: This work was selected by c3 based on a competitive process for its originality, quality of previous work, benefit to the audience and artist, experience and ability to deliver the proposed exhibition and political, social and environmental relevance to the site. Approximately 3735 people saw the exhibition.