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| Sarah Lucas, Suffolk Bunny , 1997-2004 |
Lucas might turn out to be one of the most interesting of the
original YBA crowd. I was impressed by her contribution to a mixed exhibition
in Gloucester Cathedral in 2010: I thought her piece (see below) the strongest
work in the show, as well as being the most sensitive and subtle – which given
her ‘bad girl’ reputation was a bit of a surprise.
This exhibition is billed as focusing on the ‘sculptural’, rather
than the ‘sensational’, and on her work with the
'ordinary things' that form our surroundings and assumptions.
The gallery’s exhibition blurb rather boldly situates Lucas in an art
historical lineage which ranges from
third century Italian votives, Bernini's classical statuary, the figures
of Henry Moore and the natural materials of Barbara Hepworth, to the 'Arte
Povera' strategies of Mario Merz and the found objects of Robert
Filliou. Her works also recall the knotted bodies of Orlan from the 1960s
and the dolls of Hans Bellmer and Oskar Kokoschka, as well as the surrealist
figures of Pablo Picasso, Robert Gober and Louise Bourgeois, Cycladic torsos
and archaeological artefacts.
Elevated company, indeed!
More down to earth is a description of the work itself:
Lucas' sculptures are made of and from the human body - a
decaying and sensible object that requires maintenance and care. 'Au Naturel'
(1994) is a portrait of a couple on a bed, a man represented by a cucumber and
a pair of oranges and a woman by a pair of melons and a bucket. Both vulgar
compositions are constructed from materials and vernacular slang that are
commonplace, their 'human' component made from organic matter that needs to be
replaced as inevitable decay sets in. In the seven 'NUDS' (2009-2010) here on
display, limbs can be seen wrapping around each other in knotted couplings and
solo acrobatics, the cellulite-marked flesh formed from 'natural' tights
stuffed with fluff and stiffened by wire, the delicate surface bruised and
wrinkled as the bodies perch on their breeze-block supports.
Read a review by Adrian Searle and interviews with Christina Patterson and Aida Edemariam.
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| Sarah Lucas, Au Naturel, 1994 |
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| Sarah Lucas, NUD 19, 2009 |
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| Sarah Lucas, Jubilee, 2012 |
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| Sarah Lucas, Big Fat Anarchic Spider, 1993 |
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| Sarah Lucas, Penetralia, 2008 |
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| Sarah Lucas, installation view of exhibition, including: Suffolk Bunny, Spam, Unknown Soldier, Au Naturel |
