Inextricabilia: Magical meschs
At first view, there is nothing that might connect an Art Brut sculpture by Judith Scott with a Nikisi divination statue from Congo, an eighteenth-century German reliquary or Annette Messager's net of votive photographs, and yet despite their origins in different lands, cultures, expressions and eras, there are surprising overlaps in the materials and techniques used, and in the process behind their creation. All these objects display striking analogies in the entwining, entangling and knotting of hemp cord, hair, strips of leather, gold threads, blades of grass, raffia, rope and fabric. Whether organic, plant or metal, these fibres are ingeniously assembled, stitched, woven or knotted together into inextricable meshes that are also highly symbolic objects. For indeed these resemblances go beyond form and technique: each piece is instilled with healing, purifying or protective powers that will drive away evil, endowing them with a spiritual, religious or magical role. Do their makers believe they will help them communicate with a world beyond the here below?
Inextricabilia sets out to unsnarl these twists and tangles that give form to the sentient, the incommunicable and the elusive. It invites the public to wander among creations with multiple imbrications that provoke a physical reaction, getting beneath the skin to make an almost visceral connection.
Inextricabilia will show works of Art Brut, African ritual objects, religious art, folk art, modern and contemporary art.
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At first view, there is nothing that might connect an Art Brut sculpture by Judith Scott with a Nikisi divination statue from Congo, an eighteenth-century German reliquary or Annette Messager's net of votive photographs, and yet despite their origins in different lands, cultures, expressions and eras, there are surprising overlaps in the materials and techniques used, and in the process behind their creation. All these objects display striking analogies in the entwining, entangling and knotting of hemp cord, hair, strips of leather, gold threads, blades of grass, raffia, rope and fabric. Whether organic, plant or metal, these fibres are ingeniously assembled, stitched, woven or knotted together into inextricable meshes that are also highly symbolic objects. For indeed these resemblances go beyond form and technique: each piece is instilled with healing, purifying or protective powers that will drive away evil, endowing them with a spiritual, religious or magical role. Do their makers believe they will help them communicate with a world beyond the here below?
Inextricabilia sets out to unsnarl these twists and tangles that give form to the sentient, the incommunicable and the elusive. It invites the public to wander among creations with multiple imbrications that provoke a physical reaction, getting beneath the skin to make an almost visceral connection.
Inextricabilia will show works of Art Brut, African ritual objects, religious art, folk art, modern and contemporary art.
Artists on show
- Angus MacPhee
- Annette Messager
- Antonio Dalla Valle
- Arthur Bispo do Rosário
- Cathryn Boch
- Chen Zhen
- Giuseppe Versino
- Heide de Bruyne
- Jean Loubressanes
- Jeanne Tripier
- Judith Scott
- Louise Bourgeois
- Man Ray
- Marc Moret
- Marie Lieb
- Michel Nedjar
- Pascal Tassini
- Peter Buggenhout
- Pierrette Bloch
- Sheela Gowda
- Teresa Ottallo
- Virginie Rebetez
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