It’s not what you’re thinking… This giant
chandelier called In the Eyes of Others was created by John Carey in 2009. The
mixed media piece is made from plaster, steel, wire, cardboard boxes and
newspaper – with not a bone in sight.
The Argentinian collective Mondongo is
named after the word for traditional Argentinian tripe stew. Their curious collages
combine everyday objects to create three dimensional artworks. This 2011 work
called Calavera is made from Plasticine on board.
Neo classical architecture has been chosen to represent the economic and cultural dominance of Europe and the USA over Argentina’s villa miseria or shanty towns.
These works are some of the more recent of 300
items from the collection of Richard Harris, currently on show at the Wellcome
Collection’s Death: A Self-Portrait. Read more about this curiously fascinating
exhibition in ShopCurious’s latest Curious Trends post – and have your say in
our discussion on objects of death at The Dabbler.
I could easily have spent a whole day at the Wellcome Collection. The latest show, Miracles & Charms, which starts tomorrow and runs until 26th February 2012, is actually two exhibitions. The trailer video gives a taster, but is no match for the miracles and charms you will encounter:
The rooms are packed from floor to ceiling with saviours, protectors, mascots, amulets - and about as much good luck as you could ever wish for. One part is dedicated to Infinitas Gracias: Mexican miracle paintings. There are over a hundred votive paintings, depicting around 300 years of answered prayers (see above, top). There’s also a contemporary votive wall (see above, right and below) from a church in Guanajuato, filled with everything from family photographs, drawings, love letters, and examination certificates to religious relics, wedding dresses, bouquets, and baby clothes. This part of the exhibition explores the culture and people behind the votive tradition.
The other part of the show features hundreds of lucky charms amassed by Bank of Scotland cashier and obsessive folklorist, Edward Lovett (1852-1933), who scoured the city by night, buying curious objects from London’s herbalists, mudlarks, barrowmen, and sailors. They eventually became part of Henry Wellcome’s collection, curated here by Felicity Powell, and displayed as a ‘river’ of artefacts in a horseshoe-shaped cabinet, alongside some of her own contemporary works.
Powell’s Charmed Life is “A please to the votives’ thank you” and considers the strange allure of small objects, invested with mysterious potency and meaning through superstition. Like this sovereign-sized disc of paper, on which is inscribed the Lord’s Prayer (though you’d need a magnifiying glass to read it), which was taken into battle by a World War I soldier.
Other curiosities include peony seeds (for sudden incapacity), sea horses (kept by the nursing wives of fishermen to facilitate the flow of milk to their breasts), mole feet (a cure for cramp), acorn amulets (a safeguard against lightning), coral (for “sympathy with blood”, or good health), and a parade of lucky shoes (symbolizing the path of life). If you’re looking for something similar, you may wish to visit ShopCurious.
Powell’s wax images, meticulously crafted onto mirror backs, are extraordinary and worth an exhibition in their own right. Watch her film, Sleight of Hand, based on the theme of concealment – or mediate to William Basinski’s ambient music, as nebulous concepts, like hope and anxiety, are given form...
I just hope this inspires you to go along. The clincher is that it’s free of charge – the only requirement is that you’re incurably curious…
Happy Valentine’s Day! Some think it’s a commercial conspiracy to force unwitting consumers to purchase trashy Valentine gifts…but that rather depends on the type of trash we’re talking about. In one of the most curious new trends, discarded litter and old junk are being upcycled to create collectable clothing, arty accessories and works of design art.
These stunning ‘art bags’ by acclaimed designer, Annie Sherburne, at ShopCurious, are an example of what can be created using found objects. Annie sources high quality vintage handbags, which she embellishes individually, using carefully chosen pieces of everyday junk, worked into painterly collages. As well as bits of vintage jewellery, Annie often uses old watch faces and straps, parts from retro dolls and toys, and quirky tourist memorabilia to decorate her bags.
Incidentally, discarded waste and the filth around us form the subject matter of the Wellcome Collection’s forthcoming major exhibiton, which runs from 24th March until 31st August. Dirt: the Filthy Reality of Everyday Life ‘travels across centuries and continents to explore our ambivalent relationship with dirt’ via photography, cultural ephemera, art, scientific artefacts, film and literature.
Apparently, over half the world’s inhabitants now live in urban areas, and are exposed to the overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and industrial nature of modern life. Dirt poses a significant risk to our health, but is also vital to our existence. The exhibition aims to ‘reveal the fascinating world of filth that remains one of the very last taboos.’
Hmmm, perhaps this wasn’t such a romantic topic to bring up on Valentine’s Day. But then I’m not sure how much fun romance would be without the dirty bits…
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